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THE 



ADIRONDACKS 



ILLUSTRATED. 



BY 

S: R.. STODDARD, 

Author of 

" TlCONDEROGA," " LAKE GEORGE, ILLUSTRATED," ETC. 



I 



I 



ALBANY: 
WEED, PARSONS & CO., PRINTERS. 

1874. 

7*** 




Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1874, 
By S. R. STODDARD, 
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



\\* 



\ 



■**Y 



t 

" CONTENTS 

-a. 
IV- 



PAGE. 

GENERAL INDEX — Summer Resorts, Hotels, etc iv 

Lakes and Ponds iv 

Mountains v 

Miscellaneous v 

Illustrations vi 

THANKS vii 

ROUTES, Distance Tables, etc i SS 

FARES to Different points 161 

TIME TABLES— R. & S. R. R 164 

Champlain Steamers 165 

Vermont Central 166 

MAPS — The Great Wilderness In Cover 

Railroad Map ; 163 

Schroon Lake 190 

Ausable Chasm 44 

GUIDES, Names and Post-office Address 151 

CALENDAR. — Modesty 200 

CHAPTER I. — In General — Outfit — Supplies — Guides — Expenses. 
CHAPTER II. — Lake Champlain — Past and Present — Whitehall — Ticon- 

deroga — Plattsburgh. 
CHAPTER III— Narrative — The Start — The Pilot — " Well, by Thunder !" 
CHAPTER IV.— Ausable Chasm — Keeseville — Wilmington. 
CHAPTER. V.— Whiteface Mountain — The Ascent — u Little Foot-prints" — 

Down the Mountain. 
CH A PTER VI.— On the Road —Wilmington Pass — " Gr-roop " — John Brown- 
North Elba — At the Grave — A Woman of Business. 
CHAPTER VII.— Lake Placid— Att's Humor — Paul Smith's — The First Snow 

Storm — Martin's. 
CHAPTER VIII.— The Lower Saranac — Round Lake — Bartlett's — A tired 
Clerk — The Upper Saranac — Encounter with a Fish-ball — Tupper Lake 
Region — Up the Raquette — Long Lake. 
CHAPTER IX.— Raquette Lake — The Schoolmaster — The Carry — Forked 

Lake — The Raquette — Marion River. 
CHAPTER X.— The Eagle's Nest— Ned Buntline — Blue Mountain Lake- 
Over the Mountain — Newcomb. 
CHAPTER XL— On the Tramp — John Cheney —Adirondack, the Ruined Vil- 
lage — Avalanche Lake — u Bill Nye"— 1 ' Hitch up, Matilda." 
CHAPTER XII.— Indian Pass — From Lake Henderson to North Elba. 
CHAPTER XIII.— Pleasant Valley — Elizabethtown. 
CHAPTER XIV.— Keene Flats— ll The Old Man of the Mountains"— Ausable 

Ponds — Panther Gorge — Mount Marcy — Good-bye to the Mountains. 
CHAPTER XV.— Guides — Names, Post-office Address, etc. 
CHAPTER XVI.— Routes — Excursions — Tables of Distance — Fares, etc. 
CHAPTER XVIL— Summer Resorts — Miscellaneous. 



INDEX. 



Summer Resorts. 



PAGE. 

Ausable Chasm — Chasm House, 44, 169 

Chestertown 189 

Elizabethtown 132,173 

Glens Falls 181 

Keeseville 52,168 

Keene Flats — Dibble's 135, 174 

Crawford's 136, 176 

Long Lake ... 100,172 

Lake Placid — Nash's 75, 170 

Brewster's 75, 170 

Lake George — Fort William 

Henry Hotel 183 

Central Hotel 14, 184 

Crosbyside 185 

Mohican House 186 

Bolton House 187 

Fourteen Mile Island 188 

Luzerne 180 

Mud Pond 195 



Mooers 

North Elba 

Newcomb — Half-way House . . 
Plattsburgh — Fouquet's Hotel, 

pottersville hotel 

Raquette Falls 

Root's Hotel 

St. Regis Lake 

Lower Saranac 

Upper Saranac 

Saratoga — Congress Hall 

Remedial Institute 

Schroon Lake — Leland House, 

Wickham House 

Ondawa House 

Taylor House 

Tupper's Lake .- 

Ticonderoga Hotel 

Whiteface Mountain 



page. 
*75 

74i 170 

"3i 171 

26, 167 
192 

94 

192 

80, 169 

83,169 

86, 169 

177 

179 

193 
194 

195 

195 

91, 171 

IS 
5S, 171 



Lakes and Ponds. 



Avalanche Lake (el. 2,846) 122 

Ausable Ponds 140, 142 

Blue Mountain Lake 112 

Champlain (el. 95) 91 

Chazy Lake 33 

Chateaugay Lake 33 

Cranberry Lake 93 

Colden (el. 2,747) 122 

Calamity Pond 121 

Eldon 108 

Forked Lake 104 

George 1S3 

Henderson 127 

Long Lake (el. 1,584) 96,172 

Mirror Lake 75 

Mud Lake (el. 1,737) 92 



Mud Pond 195 

Placid (el. 1,947) 75> 170 

Preston Ponds 120 

Pleasant (el. 1,578). 

Paradox Pond 76 

Raquette Lake 105 

Round Lake 86 

Upper Saranac 88,169 

Lower Saranac 84, 169 

St. Regis Lake 79, 169 

Sanford 117 

Summit Water (el. 4,293) 146 

South Pond 1 ia 

Schroon Lake 191 

Tupper's Lake (el. 1,504) 92 

Uto wanna Lake 109 



Index. 



Mountains. 



PAGE. 

Blue Mountain (el. 3,595) 112 

Bald Peak (Moriah) (el. 2,083) T 75 

Bartlett Mountain 143 

Camel's Hump, Vt. (el. 4,080) 21 

Colvin 139, 140 

Colden (el. 4,707) 127 

Cobble Hill 132 

Gray Peak (el. 4,947) 146 

Gothic Mountains 142 

Giant, The 139 

Haystack 143 

Hurricane 132 

Indian Head 140 



PAGE. 

Mount Joseph (el. 1,200) n 3 

Marcy (el. 5,333) a> X44 

Mansfield, Vt. (el. 4,350) 21 

Owl's Head (el. 2,789) 97 

Resagonia Mountain i 39 

Seward (el. 4,348) g7 

Santanona Mountain (el. 4,607) 127 

Whiteface (el. 4,918) ... 5 6, 63 

Rustic Lodge (Whiteface) (el. 4,080) 57 

Wallface Mountain (el. 3,856) 129 

(Height of Precipice, 1,319.) 
Washington, N. H. (el. 6,385). 



Miscellaneous. 



Ausable Chasm 45 

List of Views 200 

Adirondack Iron Works (el. 1,769). . 118 

Adirondack Springs 20, 175 

Arnold Ore Bed 33 

Avalanche Pass ... 124 

Burlington 21 

Bloomingdale 76 

Battle of Plattsburgh 30, 32 

Beech's Island 107 

Buntline, Ned 110 

Buttermilk Falls 104 

Bill Nye, his Story 123 

Carillon 18 

Crown Point 19 

Clinton Prison 32 

Champlain Transportation Co. . . 11, 165 

Cold River 96 

Chateaugay Falls 33 

John Cheney 116 

Camp Phelps 147 

Dead water 133 

Del. & Hudson Canal Co 12, 164 

Elizabethtown 131 

Euba Dam 132 

Guides 7, 151 

Hudson River (Head) 143 

Harper & Tufts 53, 168 

Indian Pass (el. 2,901) 128 

Indian Carry 93 

John Brown 67 

John Brown's Grave 71 

John's Brook 135 

Keeseville 51 



Keene Flats I34 , l68 

Long Lake Village 97 

Lumbermen IXI 

Lake George 183 

Marion River io 8 

Mud Pond ISO 

Murray's Island io 6 

Marcy Trail i 42 , 150 

Mould& Son, W 54 , ig9 

Modesty 2 oo 

North Elba ?I 

Newcomb 113,171 

Outfit ' 3 

Ointments 5 

Opalescent Gorge 120 

11 Old Mountain Phelps " i 37 

Ouluska Pass (el. 3,050) i 4 6 

Plattsburgh.. 24, 167 

Port Kent 23 

Port Henry Z g 

Pleasant Valley 131, i 73 

Panther Gorge i 43 

Phelp's Falls i 35 

Pilot, The 38 

Photographs, Lists, etc.. 51, 53, 178, 200 

E. & H. T. Anthony & Co i 97 

R. Walzl i 9 8 

Photo-Engraving Co 176 

Rouse's Point 24 

Roaring Brook i 39 

Roaring Brook Falls 139 

Russle Falls 139 

Rainbow Falls 141 

Raquette River 9 5 



VI 



Index. 



Miscellaneous — {Continued). 



PAGE. 

Rock Dunder . 21 

Routes.. 155 

Steamboats 11, 165 

Supplies — 7 

Split Rock 20 

Split Rock Falls 13 2 

Spectacle Ponds 93 

Stony Creek 94 

Sweeny Carry 9 1 

Sheridan, Gen. Phil 40 

Sabattis, Mitchell 99 



PAGE. 

The Schoolmaster 101 

Tupper Lake Region . .• 91 

Ticonderoga 15 

Tahawus (P. O.) 114 

Vermont Central R. R 12, 166 

Whitehall 12 

Westport 20 

Wilmington (el. 1,021) 55, 171 

Wilmington Pass 64 

Wilmington Flume 64 



Illustrations. 



Ausable Pond Frontispiece 

Ticonderoga 1 5 

Fouquet's Hotel 26 

Floral Offering, A 29 

Battle of Plattsburgh 3° 

The Night Express 35 

Professor, Ye 37 

" Lo " 41 

" Well, by Thunder " 44 

Ausable Chasm Facing 45 

Birmingham Falls 48 

" Moses " 49 

Cathedral Rocks 5° 

Ausable House 52 

Whiteface Mountain, Summit.... 56, 58 

u Gr-roop " 65 

John Brown 67 

Wilmington Pass, from the south, 64 

John Brown s Grave 7 1 

Paul Smith's 78 

Martin's 83 

Saranac Lake 84 

Bartlett's 86 

Mother Johnson's 94 



Mother Johnson 95 

Up the Raquette 95 

MitcheM Sabattis 99 

The Schoolmaster >o2 

The Carry 102 

Alva Dunning's 107 

"Ned Buntline" m 

Blue Mountain Lake ... 112 

John Cheney 117 

Adirondack 118 

Lake SANFORD,Wallface in Distance, 117 

Wm. B. Nye 123 

" Hitch up, Matilda " 126 

Indian Pass, from Henderson Lake, 127 

Indian Pass Facing 128 

South from Blin's 130 

" Where did we put them ?" 133 

11 Old Mountain Phelps " 137 

Ausable Pass 140 

Gothic Mountains 142 

"Stories" (Camp Phelps) 147 

Tail-piece — The Great Peaks 150 

Exeunt Guides 154 




THANKS. 

O Dr. G. W. Bixby of Plattsburg, for prized sugges- 
tions and assistance ; to Hon. A. W. Holden of Glens 
Falls ; to Editor Lansing of the Essex Co. Republic an ; 
to O. S. Phelps of Keene Flats, for a host of liter- 
ary matter that none were better able than he to 
give ; to Theo. White for those inimitable pan-cakes ; to Wil- 
liam B. Nye of North Elba ; to Charles W. Blanchard of 
Long Lake, for valuable tables and other matter ; to H. G. 
Baldwin of Whiteface Mountain ; to H. M. Mould of Keese- 
ville ; to H. H. Bromley of the Chasm House ; to L. M. Fou- 
quet of Plattsburgh, for an immense amount of documentary 
and personal information concerning the great wilderness, of 
which he has been, for years, an enthusiastic student ; to the 
Delaware & Hudson Canal Co., for interesting material and 
assistance aside from their duties as carriers ; to Weed, Parsons 
& Co. of Albany, for favors extended, generous uprightness 
in dealing, and more than satisfaction given in the unvarying 
excellence of their productions, and to a host of other friends 
whose names and kindnesses will recur when too late for this 
public testimonial of appreciation, thanks are given in all 
sincerity by 

The Author. 

Glens Falls, June, 1874. 

It was expected that a map sketch of the Adirondack, as 
prepared by Verplanck Colvin, Superintendent of the Adiron- 
dack Survey, could have been procured for this work. The 
reason of its non-appearance is explained by the accompany- 
ing note : 

Albany, July i, 1874. 
S. R. Stoddard, Esq., 

Dear Sir — I regret that it is impossible to procure a proof 
of the map sketch promised you to copy. It will accompany 
my forthcoming report to the legislature on the progress of 
the Survey, but is not, as yet, completely engraved. 

Yours, etc., 

Verplanck Colvin. 



THE ADIRONDACKS. 



CHAPTER I. 

Fizz-z-z-z pop ? 




N wings of thought swifter than the 
lightning's flash cleaving through 
space, we sweep away across the 
drowsy earth, over smoke-polluted 
cities, sun-scorched meadows, burn- 
ing plain and highways with their 
flaunting skirts of sand, nor rest until 
the fragrant odor of wild flowers and 
the dewy breath of forest trees come 
like incense wafted to us from below. 
Come with me up into a high moun- 
tain ! I cannot show you ''all the 
kingdoms of the world," but, "the 
* ^ glory of them." Over a rippling ocean 
of forests first, their long swelling waves, 
now rising, now sinking down into deep hol- 
lows, here in grand mountains, crested as 
with caps of foam, there tormented by counter currents into 
wildly dashing shapes, like ocean billows, frozen by Divine 
command, their summit-glittering granite, their deep green 
troughs, gleaming with threads of silver and bits of fallen sky. 
Now, the trees of the valley glide away behind us ; the 
dark spruce and pine ; and the sturdy balsam climbing the 
mountain-side — tall and graceful at first, but growing smaller 
as they rise ; now gnarled and twisted and scarce above the 
surface, sending their branches out close along the ground, 
their white tops bleached and ghastly, like dead roots of 



2 The Adirondacks. 

upturned trees, the hardy lichens still higher, then comes 
naked rock, and we stand on the wind-swept summit of the 
monarch of the Adirondacks' "Tahawas," the cloud-splitter 
of the Indian. 

Around their chief cluster the other great peaks — East, 
West, North, South, limitless, numberless, a confused mass 
of peaks and ridges, gathering, crowding close up to the base 
of the one on which we stand, and receding in waves of deep, 
then tender green, all down through the scale of color to its 
blue and purple edge ; pen cannot convey an idea of its sub- 
limity, the pencil fails to even suggest the blended strength 
and delicacy of the scene. The rude laugh is hushed, the 
boisterous shout dies out on reverential lips, the body shrinks 
down, feeling its own littleness, the soul expands, and rising 
above the earth, claims kinship with its Creator, questioning 
not his existence. 

Standing on this, the highest point in the State of New 
York, 5,333 feet above tide, we will glance at the country 
around ; the term, at first given to this cluster of moun- 
tains, occupying, as they do, less than one-quarter of the 
region, has come by usage to mean the entire wilderness, 
covering an area of over 2,500 square miles of almost un- 
broken forest. The grand mountain region is in the center 
on the East, dropping off suddenly into Lake Champlain ; 
around it, and sweeping away to the West is a vast, com- 
paratively level plateau, nearly 2,000 feet above tide, with 
here and there a mountain peak overlooking the plain below, 
the two regions differing in every respect, save in the dense 
forests that cover both ; if given to muscular exercise, climb- 
ing and viewing nature from high places, choose the eastern 
portion; if constitutionally tired, or inclined to dream away 
the quiet hours; then go to the magnificent West, where will 
be found a system of rivers, lakes and streams, so closely con- 
nected, that almost every mile of that vast tract may be 
visited without leaving the boat, save to carry a short distance 
from one water system into another, around some fall, or to 
camp for the night, and camping is not necessary if you pre- 
fer hotel life, for there are but few wilderness routes that do 
not have their halting places less than a day's journey apart. 



In General; Outfit. 3 

The various subdivisions are, first, the mountains on the 
east. The Raquette and Long Lake region toward the south- 
west, and still further away the John Brown tract. To the 
north-west is the Saranac ; west of this the Tupper's Lake, 
Oswegatchie and Grass River regions ; north of the Saranac, 
the St. Regis, and still further north the Chateaugay woods. 

It is difficult to say just which part combines the most 
attractions. The artist finds grandeur among the mountains 
and quiet loveliness in the Raquette region. The Brown tract 
is tame, but good fishing; the north-west rather gloomy, but 
probably the best hunting-ground in the wilderness. The 
Saranac and St. Regis is the most fashionable and easiest 
reached. Scattered all over this wild tract are places of enter- 
tainment, ranging all the way from the elegantly furnished 
hotels on the border to the rude log-house of the interior, 
but all "hotels," and willing to take strangers in at from 
$2.50 per day to $7.00 per week. "Martin's" is the largest; 
' Paul Smith's " the most fashionable. Keene Flats has the 
greatest number of artists — and quiet people. 

The avenues of approach radiate to all points of the com- 
pass, the favorite being — for the mountain region, by way of 
Schroon Lake and Root's, or on Champlain steamers to 
Westport; thence to Elizabethtown and Keene Flats. To the 
lake region via Lake Champlain steamers, north and south, 
to Port Kent or Plattsburgh ; thence to either the St. Regis 
or Saranac Lakes, where boats are taken for the interior. 
Nearly all the hotels advertise to furnish guides, boats and 
necessaries for camping. 

Outfit. — Claw hammer coat, fancy vest, bell-muzzle 
trowsers, stove-pipe hat, lavender kids, tender neckties, per- 
fumery, eye-glasses, cane, is "astunnin' make-up, by jove," 
for some ; others, however, prefer a coat to button close up 
in the neck, with " lots " of pockets ; with pants and vest of 
some sort of woolen goods ; pair of woolen shirts, soft felt 
hat, two pairs of woolen socks, pair of heavy kip boots, with 
broad soles and heels, one or two sizes larger than is ordinarily 
worn, common carpet slippers, with cloth tops that maybe 
tied outside the pants, for camp and night use, rubber over- 
coat or blanket, and pair of rubber leggings or overalls. 



4 The Adirondacks. 

As to a lady's "outfit," I would not presume to dictate; 1 
have learned better ; but the following is suggested as the 
proper thing for the woods and mountains: Flannel under- 
clothing, short walking dress, Turkish trowsers, buttoned at 
the ankle, soft felt hat, such as is worn by gentlemen, roomy 
balmoral boots, camp slippers, rubbers, water-proof, cotton 
or kid gloves, with armlets to button at the elbow. 

The nights are often chilly, and, for sleeping in camp, a 
pair of heavy woolen blankets are recommended ; some make 
them into a bag about six feet long and three broad, with a 
cord run in at the top so that it may be shured up around the 
owner's neck ; once in this he can bid defiance to predatory 
bugs, and need not fear that his bed-fellows will kick the bed- 
clothes off along in the cold hours of the morning. On the 
other hand it may not tend toward a devotional feeling when 
the musical mosquito directs his attention toward your unpro- 
tected nose. You can let him take his fill, if you choose, 
after which he will go off and not molest you again until he 
finds some of his hungry relations, or you may knock your 
proboscis against a convenient tree, and hurl the vandal from 
his giddy height. In the latter case, however, it requires con- 
siderable skill to properly gauge the blow. At such trying 
moments either the hands must have outlet or the feelings 
will. A pair of sleeves, closed at the end, helps the matter 
some, but in the construction of the garment a wide field, or 
rather bag, is still open for the display of inventive genius. 
A small bag to be filled with leaves or gross, and used as a 
pillow, pays for itself in one night's use. All the articles 
enumerated, with, perhaps, the exception of the envelope, 
may be packed in a valise or knapsack, or, what will answer 
equally well, a common grain-bag, with two straps attached 
about half way up, which, passing over the shoulders and 
back, under the arms, fasten to the lower corners, the load 
resting well down on the back ; don't forget soap, towels and 
a drinking cup, either of tin or of leather that will flatten 
down and be carried easily in the pocket, A compass is a 
very pleasant companion, and at times very useful ; needles 
and thread, pins, and pocket mirror in which to look occa- 
sionally, if you are given to amour propre. It would be well 



Sporting Outfit. 5 

also to take bandages, lint, ointment, ammonia (often sooth- 
ing the irritation when applied to blotches caused by the bite 
or sting of insects), and some kind of cholera medicine ; for 
burns apply wheat flour ; to stop the flow of blood from 
wounds, bind on equal parts of flour and common salt; beware 
of bulky luxuries or much extra clothing; they are a nuisance 
and provoke a rebellious spirit in the breast of the guide, for 
guides even have some rights that their employers are bound 
to respect. 

Sporting outfit. Do not rely on what books tell you. 
If you know nothing about it, place yourself under some 
one that does and trust to their judgment until you can judge 
for yourself. The most enticing of fancy flies in the hands of a 
greenhorn will not yield much sport — except to outsiders — 
and the grandest achievement in patent double acting fire- 
arms will not alone deplete the ranks of the timid deer as 
rapidly as a common rifle backed by common sense and the 
necessary ammunition, or a fowling piece if you are not skilled 
in the use of the former ; in either case have none but a 
breech-loader. 

The Adirondack Fire Arms Company, of Plattsburgh, make 
a very popular rifle, which, taken altogether, is probably the 
best in use, being a " magazine gun " made to contain from 
seven to seventeen cartridges which are thrown up into the 
barrel, without removing the gun from the shoulder, by a 
rapid motion that at the same time casts out the empty shell ; 
one peculiar advantage is its adjustable gauge whereby car- 
tridges of any length can be used — the want of which in others 
has been a frequent source of annoyance to hunters. 

The Rev. Mr. Murray (whose book has been so mercilessly 
criticised by those who did not possess the first requisite of the 
sportsman to whom it appealed, and who were misled thereby 
expecting to see deer in droves and trout in schools coming 
up to the parlor windows to be shot and hooked, who in 
His exuberance of spirit may have inflated the unpoetical 
truth a little at times), is a thorough sportsman and suggests 
the following for the guidance of fishermen : 

Flies, Hackles, black, red and brown, 6 each ; hooks, i, 2, 
3, Limerick size, also 6 Canada flies, 6 green drake, 6 red ibes, 



6 The Adirondacks. 

6 small salmon flies (best of all); In the fall of the year, hall 
a dozen each of English blue jay and gray drake, one light, 
single-handed fly rod, Landing net ; he also suggests for boat- 
fishing two dozen short-shanked good-sized hooks, hand-tied 
to strong cream-colored snells ; for bait use worms, grubs or 
cut a piece from a chub and troll or skitter it across the sur- 
face of the water. Mr. Murray further says, use braided silk 
lines and invokes you to beware of such as have a glassy 
glitter about them. 

Other flies. — The black-fly, " punkey " — fearful form of 
torment conjured up by a diseased mind, owes a great share 
of its importance to the imagination of writers who do not 
want to spoil a good story for lack of strength, and so uncork 
their vials of descriptive terror and cry " black-fly " all because 
a poor, little, innocent creature, may occasionally take toll 
from a passing traveler, in a perfectly legitimate manner, in 
broad daylight. He can't be so very terrible, and when night 
comes, he retires in a very christian-like manner and does not 
molest or make you afraid until daylight appears once more, 
passing away almost entirely early in July. The mosquito, 
however, is a different enemy to deal with, he comes like a 
thief in the night and presents his bill at the most inoppor- 
tune moments imaginable, and he is ably supported by the 

gnat. 

To avoid these pests as far as possible select for a camp- 
ing place some island or point where the open forest 
affords the wind free sweep. A tent that can be made tight 
is the best ; smudge the insects out, then cover the en- 
trance with thin muslin. As a further protection, take gloves 
as suggested in ladies' outfit and Swiss muslin bag to cover 
the head, gathered around the neck and fastened inside the 
collar band. Ointments of various kinds are also used ; 
the easiest carried perhaps of any is a piece of mutton tallow 
previously melted, and mixed with oil of pennyroyal in the 
proportion of six ounces of tallow to one of the oil, to which 
a little camphor may be added, if preferred ; a mixture of 
sweet oil and tar is also used, with which the face and hands 
are anointed — tar doesn't look very attractive and is ob- 
jected to by some ladies, but it is very efficacious, it keeps the 



Guides. y 

flies at a distance and the young men soon get accustomed 
to it. 

Supplies. — Provisions may be obtained at the hotels; but 
as some prefer to cany them, the following are suggested as 
the staples : Boston crackers, Indian meal, oat meal (excel- 
lent for griddle cakes), baking powder, or what is perhaps 
better, self-raising flour, maple sugar, loaf sugar (easy to sort 
if it gets scattered), tea, coffee (condensed milk is good some- 
times), dried fruit, pepper, salt, butter. Pint tin cups, tin plates, 
spoons, knives and forks, two long handle frying-pans, tin 
basins, two tin pails, holding from three to six quarts each, to 
be used for tea, coffee, etc. 

Bacon is easily carried, and nice, when it is ?iice ; but see 
that it is not rusty when taken ; above all, have plenty of 
salt pork, unpoetical but palatable, taking the place of butter 
and all of the seasonings. From experience, I have learned that 
the amount of salt pork a delicate young creature — who be- 
fore revolted, perhaps, at mention of it — gets away with in 
the woods, is simply enormous; and then it's "awfully jolly, 
you know," to broil a piece on a sharp stick, letting the gravy 
drip on crisp-toasted bread, and eat the two together, no 
matter if it does drop in the ashes once in a while, it is 
healthy, and that is the great desideratum. 

Guides usually furnish boat with all necessaries for 
camping, do all the work, cooking, etc., and carry the boat 
over all portages (excepting where they are snaked across by 
horse-power, for which the employer pays) at from $2.50 to $3 
per day. 

An ordinary boat will carry two beside the guide, and many 
go in couples, thus lessening expenses in guide-hire one-half; 
but, for the sake of independence, each person should have his 
own. There are two classes, known as the "hotel" and "in- 
dependent guides." The latter, as a rule, give the best satis- 
faction, not because there are not just as good men among the 
" hotel " guides as the others, but they are engaged for the 
season by hotel proprietors, who relet them to parties ; and 
while two or three, out of a half-dozen, may be first-class, the 
rest are often young and inexperienced — cheap hands sent 
along to learn the business. I have tried both, and it is not 



8 The Adirondack^. 

difficult, all other things being equal, to decide who will try- 
to please you most ; the one who receives his pay and is re- 
sponsible to another man for his actions, or the one who looks 
to you for future employment. Many engage them a year in 
advance, and would as soon think of going without a gun as 
their favorite guide. 

Expenses. — The cost of a trip of course cannot be fairly 
estimated, varying with the habits and requirements of those 
taking it. The one described in the narrative portion of this 
work includes, in its round, over 200 miles by rail, steamboat 
and stage, 100 by boat, and something more than 100 on foot, 
the main line, taking in Ausable chasm, Whiteface mountain, 
Wilmington Notch, John Brown's grave at North Elba, Lake 
Placid, Paul Smith's and back to Martin's by private convey- 
ance, thence by boat through the Saranac's over to the 
Raquette, up that and through Long Lake, thence around 
through Forked, Raquette and Blue Mountain lakes ; by 
mountain carry to Kellogg's once more, then east to New- 
comb, north to the deserted village, through Indian Pass to 
North Elba again, then east to Keene, south through the 
" Flats" to the Ausable Ponds, thence out to Root s and home 
by way of Schroon Lake and Lake George, occupying a little 
over three weeks in the round, and costing — railroad fares, 
etc., — all told, about $65 each, for the "Professor" and my- 
self; and remember this was for sight seeing, during which 
time we slept in a shanty but one night, then only from choice, 
and all the time with hotel fare and prices. 

From four to live dollars per week is amply sufficient to 
cover the expenses of any one reasonable being while in the 
woods, including guide-hire and the little luxuries that have 
to be taken in, or procured at the hotels. Fares to different 
points will be found under their appropriate heading, by which 
an estimate can be made of the total expense of the trip. 




CHAPTER II. 

Lake Champlain. 

^ o HE first white sporting man that ever visited 
the Adirondacks was Samuel de Champlain, a 
Frenchman, who, in 1609, joined a company of 
native tourists on a gunning expedition to the 
southern borders of the future State park, 
where he fell in with a party of Iroquois and 
succeeded in bagging a satisfactory number. 
Samuel, besides being an enthusiastic sports- 
man, was of a vivacious, happy disposition, as 
witness his felicitous description of the mannei 
in which he, at the first shot, brought down 
three out of four Aborigines, who broke cover, 
then pursued and killed some others; he 
should, however, receive no credit as a marksman, for he 
used a beastly arm called an « arquebus," a remote progeni- 
tor of the terrible blunderbuss -a shot-gun, which same, I 
think all will agree is beneath the dignity of a true sports- 
man 'to point toward such game. After this adventure 
which happened the same year that Hendrick Hudson sailed 
up the river that now bears .his name, and eleven years 
before the original pilgrims landed on Plymouth rock, he 
returned home and wrote an interesting account of the 
affair calling the sheet of water explored after himself- -Lake 
Champlain. Just two centuries after his passage in a canoe, 
the first steamboat was launched on the lake. When he came, 
the Indians called it Cam adere guar ante, spelled in various 
ways, and said by learned authorities who copy it from some 
one else, to mean "the lake that is the gate of the country. 
By the early French who did not choose to recognize Cham- 
plain's right to the name, it was known as Mere les Iroquois, or 
"Iracosia" A book published in 1659 speaks of it as "the 
lake of Troquois, which, together with a river of the same 



io The Adirondack^. 

name, running into the river of Canada, is sixty or seventy 
leagues in length. In the lake are four fair islands, which are 
low and full of goodly woods and meadows, having store of 
game for hunting. Stagges, Fallow Dear, Elks, Roe Bucks, 
Beavers, and other sorts of beasts." In shape it is very like 
a long, slim radish, with Whitehall at the little end ; then 
comes the long root and outbranching river fibers. At Bur- 
lington, quite a respectable radish, then blotches of rock and 
island, and, beyond that, the leaves spreading out on either 
side and toward the North. 

On the east is Vermont, sweeping away from the lake in a 
broad, cultivated plain, then gradually ascending to the ridges 
of the Green mountains ; along the southern and central por- 
tion of the lake, the rocky western shores step down to the 
water's edge and backward, rising up peak on peak the high- 
est, misty with distance or hidden by the clouds that gather 
around ; then wild, broken and grand, the Adirondack moun- 
tains. Here and there are little bits of cultivated land and 
breaks in the mountain-gateways to the wilderness, then as 
you near Burlington, they fall away back into the interior, and 
a level, well-cultivated country presents itself. 

It is 130 miles from the head of navigation to Rouse's Point ; 
measuring down into Missisquoy bay, on the east side, the 
extreme length is about 140 miles. It is ninety-one feet above 
tide, according to late measurements, and the United States 
Coast Survey shows that a ship drawing 333 feet would barely 
float in the deepest places, which are near Burlington. Just 
north of this is the broadest part, the lake being eleven miles 
across. It contains a number of islands, the principal ones near 
the north end, where there is plenty of room for them, and 
contemplating this just distribution of land, in places where 
it would be least in the way, we are led to think that " what- 
ever is, is right," for had Grand Isle been dropped down in 
some narrow portion of the lake — Whitehall, for instance, it 
would have been pretty hard on the inhabitants of that un- 
happy place, although, perhaps, aside from its lumber, the 
world would not have felt trie loss very keenly. 

As of old, "the gate of the country," Lake Champlain, is 
now a great highway of commerce and pleasure travel, the 



Champlain Transportation Co. ii 

chief industry being the iron found in large quantities, and of a 
superior quality, in the mountains on the west shore, and the 
lumber from the forests of Canada that pass through toward 
the south. If, as is proposed, the Champlain canal, between 
Troy and Whitehall, be enlarged, so that vessels of 1,000 tons 
burden can pass through, it will bring almost the entire freight 
of the great lakes this way, reducing the time from Oswego to 
Troy, by canal, about one-quarter, and rendering the tranship- 
ment of the cargo to smaller boats unnecessary ; the wished- 
for result, however, is not yet. Men can measure the distance 
to the planets, track the erratic comet through unknown space 
and foretell its coming, but the doings of the New York Legis- 
lature are past finding out. 

The Champlain Transportation Company have fully 
supplied the wants of the traveling public in the magnificent 
steamers that double the lake daily. This company was 
organized in 1826, and now run six steamers, viz.: The Ver- 
mont, Adirondack, Champlain, A. Williams, Minnehaha, and 
Ganouskie— the last two on Lake George. Le G. B. Can- 
non is President; F. P. Noyes, Treasurer; A. L. Inman, 
General Superintendent, and Elijah Root, Chief Engineer. 
The first three boats run regular trips the entire length of the 
lake, day and night ; leaving Whitehall and Rouse's Point on 
the arrival of morning and evening trains. Meals are fur- 
nished on board ; each boat carries a crew of about 50 per- 
sons ; consumes 35 tons of coal daily, and will easily make 20 
miles an hour. They are of beautiful build, clean and well 
conducted, with richly furnished state-rooms, and plenty of 
sitting-room out on the open decks, designed especially for 
pleasure travel; lacking the tawdry glitter of some steamers, 
but perfect models of elegance and rich simplicity. 

The "Vermont" was built in 1 871, at Shelburne harbor, 
where ail are laid up for the winter ; is 262 feet long, 36 foot 
beam, 9 foot hold, with a capacity of 1,125 tons. 

The "Adirondack," built in 1867; length 251 feet; beam, 
34; hold, 9; capacity, 1,088 tons. 

The "Champlain," originally the "Oakes Ames," built in 
1868, for the R. R. ferry, between Burlington and Plattsburgh; 
would carry a half-dozen cars at a trip, and was nearly all hole, 



12 The Adirondack^. 

with a thin shell of cabin, engine and paddle-wheels around 
it. In the winter of 1873-74 it was altered over, and is now 
one of the regular through line; length, 244 feet; beam, 34 
feet; hold, 9 feet; capacity, 1,246 tons. 

Two great railroad companies join in bringing travel this 
way ; first, the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company, 
a strong and wealthy corporation, who own or lease the 
Albany & Susquehanna, Rensselaer & Saratoga, and New 
York & Canada railroads, and branches, and have placed 
them among the best running, most perfectly appointed 
roads in the country. Throughout the season of pleasure 
travel special fast trains are run with drawing-room cars, on 
all through trains between New York, Albany, Saratoga, 
Glens Falls and Whitehall, affording a restful change from 
the boat at Albany, passing through a pleasant country, full 
of historic interest, and before the pleasurable first sensations 
of " riding on the rail " has worn away, leaving for the lovely, 
ever-changing scenery of the narrows — then out into the 
broad expanse of Lake Champlain. 

And right here let me say to you by all means see the 
" Hudson by daylight " from the deck of some one of the 
steamers that ply regularly between New York and Albany, 
where, with Thursty McQuill's book in hand (the which, while 
undoubtedly the best guide of the route ever published, is at 
the same time rich in the legendary lore of the noble river, 
and glowing with the poetic nature of its Scottish author), 
as the boat glides upward from the sea, drink in its 
beauties, and live over again the strange history, the wild 
traditions, and quaint creations of fancy, that have made it 
famous throughout the world, and the voyage, seem like 
a dream of fairy land. 

The " Vermont Central " is another powerful company, 
first-class in every particular, who lease all the roads running 
east, west and south through the New England States, up the 
lovely valley of the Connecticut to Lake Memphremagog and 
westward through the Green mountains to Burlington, where 
steamers are taken to the opposite shore. 

Whitehall is at the head of Lake Champlain ; 223 miles 
north of New York, 79 from Albany. As we break through 



Whitehall. 13 

the ledges and approach from the south, the valley spreads 
out toward the east in a fertile plain ; at the right, toward the 
north, is quite a mountain, girded with outcropping ledges 
that run up from the east at an angle of about thirty degrees, 
and are broken off precipitously on the west ; all along this 
front, houses cling one above another like rows of martins' 
boxes, and wooden stairways run zigzag up the sides, which, 
if bought by the acre, would bring the most measured per- 
pendicularly while there would seem to be no difficulty at all 
in having a cellar right in the garret of a fourth story build- 
ing. Climbing up the stairways we look down on the busi- 
ness portion of the village, close, compact and city-like below 
and thinning out gradually up the hill on the west. Going 
still higher, a pathway is found leading to the summit which 
is comparatively clear and affords a wonderfully fine moun- 
tain view for a very little exertion. From the south comes 
the canal and Wood creek, twin threads of silver twisting and 
turning; now at the east, now at the west side of the valley, 
cutting across in a succession of glistening loops. On the 
west are the mountains that separate us from Lake George; 
on the east, the level toward Castleton and beyond, the 
mountains of the island of New England — a thriving little 
dependency of the United States, separated from it by the 
Hudson river, Champlain lake and canal. 

Whitehall was originally called Skeenesborough, after Col. 
Philip Skeene, who accompanied Abercrombie in 1758; was 
wounded in his attack on Ticonderoga and, after Amherst's 
victorious advance in the following year, was appointed com- 
mandant at Crown Point, at which time he projected the set- 
tlement. In 1765, he obtained a grant of the township and, 
in 1770, took up his residence here. On the breaking out ol 
the Revolution he took sides with the Royalists, accompanied 
Burgoyne in his expedition against Ticonderoga and was 
captured with him at Saratoga ; his property was confiscated 
by act of Legislature in 1779. 

Wood Creek, that from its very head, has flown sleepily 

along, seems to have awakened suddenly and with a quick 

start, a joyous little run, a little foam and a little racket, 

plunges over the rocks, and dies out in the muddy lake at 

2 



f4 The Adirondacks. 

our feet. Close to the falls the canal boats and small steamers 
come, and line the banks of the bayou-like lake that leads 
away to the north through what seems a basin scooped out 
of the mountains, its marshy bed filled here and there with 
pieces of "made" land on which are steam mills, and long 
piles of lumber, which forms the principal business of the 
place. Through the marsh also runs the railroad to the land- 
ing beyond, where the large steamboats await the coming 
train. 

Fiddler's Elbow, where of old all the large steamers had 
to '• warp " past, is a short, double crook, in the narrow chan- 
nel, about one mile below Whitehall. Here rest the hulks 
of some of the vessels that engaged in the battle of Pitts- 
burgh. 

Fort Putnam is a high, rocky point, on the east side, 
where old Israel and his little band of Colonists lay in ambush 
for the French and Indians under Marin. 

Put's Rock, on the west side, is a flat, shelving ledge, run- 
ning down to near the water's edge. Here it is said the old 
general once ran his horse off into the lake and escaped to 
the other side when pursued by Indians — vouched for by 
Whitehall generally. Close by is the dock where passengers 
and freight are transferred from rail to steamboat and vice 
versa. 

Benson, 13 miles from Whitehall, and Orwell, 7 miles 
further, are not particularly noticeable, unless it be for mud 
and the fact that they are on the Vermont side and that the 
boat touches there. 




TICONDEROGA. 

Ticonderoga is 24 miles from Whitehall. Here are the 
ruins of the old fort, a good hotel and the place where the 
road from Leicester Junction joins the New York and Canada 
railroad, and where the fashionable route branches off over 
four miles of staging to the foot of Lake George, thence by- 
steamer 34 miles to its head. 

Here were enacted the principal events in the play of the 
lake ; here savage tribes contended for the country on either 
hand ; here three great nations struggled for the prize of a 
continent, and precious blood flowed like water for this, the 
key to the "gate of the country," by its position elected to 
become historic ground ; as such, let us glance briefly in 
passing. 

Claimed by the Hurons and Algonquins on the north, and 
the Five Nations, on the south, Lake Champlain was perma- 
nently occupied by neither, but the gateway between two 
sections that were continually at war with each other, the 
bloody middle ground over which each party in its turn swept 
carrying ruin in its path. This had driven all who would 
have occupied it beyond the mountains, and the lovely shores 
remained in unbroken solitude. Thus Champlain found it 
when, in July, 1609, he sailed south with the Indians from 
the St. Lawrence to make war upon their southern enemies, 
and "encountered a war party of the Iroquois on the 29th of 
the month, about ten o'clock at night, at the point of a cape 
which puts out into the lake on the west side." They each 
retired until the morning, when a battle ensued. Champlain 



1 6 The Adirondacks. 

was kept out of sight until they marched to the attack. He 
says: "Ours commenced, calling me in a loud voice, and, 
making way for me, opened in two and placed me at their 
head, marching about twenty paces in advance until I was 
within thirty paces of the enemy." 

" The moment they saw me they halted, gazing at me and 
I at them. When I saw them preparing to shoot at us, I 
raised my arquebus, and aiming directly at one of the three 
chiefs, two of them fell to the ground by this shot, and one of 
their companions received a wound, of which he died after- 
ward. I had put four balls in my arquebus. Ours, in witness- 
ing a shot so favorable to them, set up such tremendous 
shouts that thunder could not have been heard ; and yet there 
was no lack of arrows on one side and the other. The Iro- 
quois were greatly astonished, seeing two men killed so 
instantaneously, notwithstanding they were provided with 
arrow-proof armor, woven of cotton-thread and wood. * * * 
TliO'y lost courage, took to flight, and abandoned the field and 
their fort, hiding themselves in the depths of the forests ; 
whither pursuing them I killed some others. * * * The 
place where the battle was fought is 43 degrees some minutes 
latitude, and I named it Lake Champlain."* Ticonderoga is 
43/4 degrees north latitude and probably the cape referred to 
"which puts out into the lake on the west side." 

The French claimed the country by virtue of Champlain's 
discovery., and in 1731, while at peace with Great Britain, they 
advanced to Crown Point and erected Fort St. Frederick. 

The English claimed this territory by right of purchase and 
treaty with the Five Nations, and feeling that something 
must be done to prevent further encroachments of the French 
on British soil, General Johnson was sent, in 1755, to drive 
them away, going by way of Lake George, where he halted 
for a few days, when Baron Dieskau made a dash around 
French mountain, defeated Col. Williams' party and attacked 
the main army, in which he was defeated. He then returned 
to Ticonderoga and began the erection of a fort which he 
called "Carillon." 

* Documentary history of New York, see "Ticonderoga," page 32. 



TlCONDEROGA. \J 

In 1757, it was occupied by Montcalm, who marched thence 
to the capture of Fort William Henry. 

In 1758, Abercrombie made his unsuccessful attack on the 
old French lines, which resulted in his total defeat, with a 
loss of nearly 2,000 killed and wounded. 

The following year Amherst entrenched before the lines, 
and the French, feeling that they could not successfully resist 
him, abandoned and set fire to the works, which the English 
took possession of in the morning. They then advanced on 
Fort St. Frederick, the French retreating down the lake ; their 
hold on Champlain gone forever. 

Amherst repaired and enlarged the works at Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, on a scale of great magnificence, but never 
a shot from the frowning embrasures was directed against an 
approaching foe. Peace between the nations soon followed 
and the forts were allowed to fall into a state of ill repair and 
were poorly garrisoned when the revolution broke out. 
Crown Point had only a sergeant and 12 men and Ticon- 
deroga 50 men all told, when in the gray of the morn- 
ing of the 10th of May, 1775, Ethan Allen and 83 of his 
"Green Mountain boys," stole in through the wicket gate 
and demanded its surrender " in the name of the Great 
Jehovah and the Continental Congress." Crown Point was 
on the same day taken possession of by a party of Allen's 
men under Seth Warner, and soon after a sloop of war was 
captured by Benedict Arnold, by which the colonists gained 
command of the lake. 

The following year Arnold, in command of a small flotilla, 
was defeated near the Four Brothers' islands by General Carl- 
ton, who advanced as far south as Crown Point, then retired 
into Canada. 

In 1777 there came sweeping from the north the conceited, 
the pompous, the brilliant BurgO)me with 7,500 men and laid 
siege to Ticonderoga. St. Clair, then in command had barely 
sufficient troops to man the principal works, and when the 
English took possession of Mount Defiance, from which they 
could drop shot right over into the fort, he decided to aban- 
don it and did so on the night of July 4th ; all the stores that 
could be taken were removed, guns were spiked and at mid- 



1 8 The Adirondacks. 

night a dusky throng moved away across the chain bridge. 
Unfortunately for the Americans, a house on Mount Inde- 
pendence was set on tire and the light revealed the fugitive 
army to the watchful enemy, who immediately pursued. The 
greater part retreated toward Castleton and were followed, en- 
gaged and beaten ; the English, however, suffered terribly, it 
is said, losing ten to one of the Yankees. The rest moving 
up the lake toward Whitehall were pursued by the British 
who broke through the chain bridge and reaching the head 
of the lake almost as soon as they, captured most of the 
stores and ammunition, the men retreating to Fort Ann ; after 
this Burgoyne moved south to Saratoga, where his march of 
triumph was changed to one of defeat, for he found the 
Gates too strong for him to pass. 

After " Saratoga " the British retired into Canada, but in 1780 
the old fort was again occupied by the troops under General 
Haldiman, at which time occurred those bloodless battles of 
diplomacy, where Arnold plotted treason with such con- 
summate sagacity, that his country's enemies rested on their 
arms and " peace reigned throughout her borders." 

Then came another enemy, silent, but resistless as the 
march of time. Rain and sunshine, frosts to rack and tem- 
pests to beat upon the old walls, until they totter and fall 
away, disappearing, one by one, and pointing to the time 
when naught shall remain but the name it bears, and that 
uncertain in the mists of the past. 

"Ticonderoga "* — the generally accepted extract and 
boiled down result of over a dozen different Indian names, 
all, however, having something the same sound — as Tiende- 
roga, Cheonderoga — meant to them the coming together, or 
meeting of waters,\ instead of the generally accepted version 
of " Sounding waters." 

Carillon, the name given it by the French, meaning music, 
racket, a chime, may have been suggested by the " Sounding 
waters " near hy. 

The old battery on the bluff, at the steamboat landing, is 

* For full description, with map of the ruins of to-day, see " Ticonderoga." 
t Colden, 1765. Pownell, 1774. 



Crown Point. 



19 



said to have been the original Carillon. Back on the higher 
ground are the barrack walls, trenches, two bastions and the 
best preserved portion of the ruins — a bomb-proof room, 
probably the magazine. On the east, by the east side of the 
road, is the old fort well. Leading from the south-east corner 
toward this, on the flat above, is the covered way, through 
which, it is said, Allen went in the gray of the morning, nearly 
a century ago. On the west is Mount Defiance ; between it 
and the fort the outlet of Lake George joins Lake Cham- 
plain. Opposite the point to the south-east, the lake is nar- 
rowed down by the near approach of Mount Independence, 
which was also ortified when St. Clair had command there. 
Between the two points ran the chain or floating bridge. The 
lake now turns toward the north, thus washing three sides of 
the point. Up among the oaks, just beyond the tunnel, is 
the old French lines, reaching nearly across from shore to 
shore. Across the flat, where now stands a pleasant Hotel, 
lay Allen's route from the shore above, and it is probable, 
that near the railroad depot above, occurred Champlain battle 
in 1609. 

The next landing is Larabees, on the Vermont shore, two 
miles distant. 

Crown Point is nine miles farther, where the lake is some- 
times left for Schroon lake and the lower Adirondacks, by way 
of Roots. A very good hotel stands here ; the village is a 
mile further away. 

Crown Point Ruins and Light-house is seven miles 
further on the west side, nearly met by Chimney Point ap- 
proaching from the east ; here the French erected Fort St. Fred- 
erick in 1 73 1, the ruins of which may yet be seen on the shore, 
a little way north of the light-house ; this soon became a noted 
trading port, where the Indians brought peltries to exchange 
for civilized whisky and other necessaries ; the remains of 
lines of cellars, flagged walks, etc., testifying that at some 
time quite a village had stood there, it is said, with a popula- 
tion of 1,500. The extensive ruins further back are of the fort, 
commenced by Amherst in 1759. On the west is Bulwagga 
bay. 

Port Henry — two miles from the Point, is noted for its 



20 The Adirondacks. 

immense iron business and rich ore beds, found in the rugged 
mountains on the north and west ; this is at present the north- 
ern terminus of the southern division N. Y. &. C. railroad, 
but the work is being pushed steadily all along the west shore, 
and it is probable that soon an air-line railroad will connect 
the two great cities of the States and province. 

Westport is a pretty little village, on a deep bay, setting 
into the western shore, fifty-five miles north of Whitehall. 
This is the usual entrance to the mountain region by way of 
Elizabethtown, eight miles distant, thence to Keene ; twelve 
miles farther. All through this region, west and south, the 
country is a succession of mountain and valley, or rather 
spurs and isolated peaks, around which flow the pleasant 
lower levels. (See page 131.) 

The Adirondack Springs, which of late are attracting con- 
siderable attention, are situated on the mountain slope, half a 
mile from the lake, midway between Westport and Port 
Henry. The springs are self-walled, with a substance some- 
thing like that of the "high rock" at Saratoga; the depth 
varying from 10 to something over 18 feet, are owned by 
G. W. Spencer, who has accommodations for quite a number 
of guests, making it. with good fishing and sailing on the 
lake, a very pleasant retreat, whether in pursuit of health or 
pleasure. (See Index.) 

Soon after leaving Westport, the spires of Vergennes, one 
of the oldest and littlest cities of the State, appear inland on the 
Vermont side, then the mouth of Otter creek, the largest 
stream in the State ; here are the ruins of Fort Cassin, from 
which point, in the war of 1812, a lieutenant of that name re- 
pulsed the British flotilla, advancing to destroy the American 
ships on the stocks at Vergennes. 

Split Rock. — Along the west shore runs Split Rock 
mountain, ending in the curious freak of nature, from which 
it received its name. Split Rock is a great, rough fragment 
of the mountain, containing, perhaps, a half acre of surface, 
nearly thirty feet in height, and separated from the main rock 
by a rift ten or twelve feet in width. Various theories are 
advanced, one of these that it is caused by the gradual attri- 
tion and disintegration of its asthenic particles by the com- 



Burlington. 21 

bined dissilience of the elements, or some other cause, which 
is probably correct. Some say that this was of old the famous 
"Rock Reggio," so frequently mentioned in colonial records, 
and which tradition points out, first as the place where a great 
chief was drowned, from which it received its name ; and second, 
as the boundary line between the Indians on the north and 
the Five Nations on the south. Watson claims, however, that 
Rock Dunder is the original " Rock Reggio," where the acci- 
dent occurred. Either one is an easy thing to fall off of, if a 
body is so disposed. 

Touching at Essex, a small village on the west shore, ten 
miles from Westport, the boat passes out into the broadening 
lake, gradually nearing the Vermont side in the approach to 
Burlington. Back, inland, are the two highest peaks of the 
Green Mountains, Mansfield, 4,350 feet above tide, and Camel's 
Hump, the Leon Couchant of the French. A prominent ob- 
ject, as we approach the city, is Rock Dunder, a sharp cone 
of rock 30 feet high. Farther out in the lake is Juniper island, 
and still farther the Four Brothers, where occurred Arnold's 
naval engagement with Carleton, resulting in the total defeat 
of the Americans. Away across, on the west shore, is Wills- 
borough Point. Back of this the deep bay of the same name, 
a little way south is the mouth of the Boquet river. 

Burlington. 

Turning once more toward the east we behold, as we 
approach, one of the finest and most prosperous cities of 
the State, with a population of about 15,000. A long break- 
water, with a light-house on each end, protects the shipping 
against the severe west wind. From the wharves, at the 
water line, the ground slopes upward, covered with lines of 
statety stores and dwellings, and appropriately enough over- 
looked by the University buildings of the State. It is 80 
miles from Whitehall — a railroad center of considerable im- 
portance, and head-quarters of the Champlain Transportation 
Company. Here the Vermont Central railroad taps the lake, 
and tourists cross routes, going to the White Mountains and 
the Adirondacks, changing from boat to coach and coach to 
boat. There are two good hotels, the "American " and "Van 
Ness House," standing close together, and, as there is an 



22 The Adirondacks. 

active rivalry existing between them, they are naturally both 
first class. They are united on one question, however. All 
Vermont is. Earthquakes may rend this crust, and fanaticism 
turn man against his mother-in-law, but on one question 
Vermont stands firm. She venerates the hero of Ticonderoga — 
the leader of the Green Mountain boys — the Tell of Vermont — 
Ethan Allen. — They vote for him to this day in the some- 
what extended rural districts ; they swear by him, and some 
who have learned of his decease are willing even to lie by 
him. 

- I saw him. I had a half day to spare, so approaching the 
affable (affable is a beautiful and appropriate title applied to 
all landlords now-a-days) proprietor of one of the hotels 
mentioned, I asked if there was any thing of interest about 
the city. He gazed at me a moment in astonishment, then, 
concluding that I was a foreigner, he casually mentioned a 
few hundred public buildings and parks, avenues, industries, 
individuals, etc. 

" Any thing more ?" 

" Yes, sir. There's the statue of Ethan Allen, imported 
from Italy at a cost of several thousand dollars, and the mar- 
ble column on which it stands, nearly 400 feet high ' 

" Je-ru-salem ! " 

"Yes, sir — the hill it stands on is 375 — then there are the 
lumber districts and market, the largest in the country, with 
one or two exceptions ; lovely drives along the shore and out 
among the suburbs — to Boston, New York, Montreal and 
other places." 

" Jupiter Tonans. Any thing else ? " 

" Yes, sir, situation sir; sit-u-a-tion. We think we lie the 
best of any city in the world — so natural and easy." 

" Undoubtedly, sir, undoubtedly. I am amazed, astounded 
— any thing else ?" 

"Good Lord, Mr. a-a-a-what more do you want? Yes, sir, 
there is the University of Vermont, on the hill — ' crowned 
by the University' the guide books have it — one of the 
grandest architectural triumphs of the country sir, everybody 
should see it — it is alone worth a full day's inspection." 

" Great St. Peter ! Where is it ? " 



Port Kent. 23 

" I don't know exactly myself, but I can send a boy to show 
you the way, and I assure you, sir, that you cannot fail to ad- 
mire it, it is imposing, sir, it is grand ; I can personally vouch 
for that — excuse me, sir, here comes the Governor; here 
Johnny, trot this gentleman around." 

Port Kent, ten miles from Burlington, in a north-westerly 
direction, is not particularly noticeable, unless it be for its 
age, and it don't seem to take much pride in even that, it 
seems to have lost all interest in matters generally and is wait- 
ing for the time when the scream of the locomotive on the 
New York and Canada railroad shall be heard there, when it 
can gather up money enough to move away to some western 
country where it does not require so much work to gain a 
living; this does not apply to all the buildings, however, for 
along the brow of the hill are several very pleasant, comfort- 
able looking houses, among them the old home of Elkanah 
Watson, whose account of travels in 1777, contain the best 
record we have of the towns and villages at that period. His 
descendants still occupy the homestead ; his mantle, as his- 
torian falling on one well worthy to wear it, WinslowC. Wat- 
son, who has contributed much that is valuable to the annals 
of his native country and the valley of che Cham plain. 

We should have charity for Port Kent, however, perhaps it 
is worn out as it were, by the stages that come down from noisy 
Keeseville at all times of the day and night, storm or shine, 
to meet the boats as they touch at the venerable dock, "oppo- 
sition, ten cents to Keeseville," or less if you consider that 
extortionate, and when the new plank-road is laid, which will 
be in operation soon, they will probably be willing to pay for 
your compay. (See page 43.) 

From Port Kent to Ausable Chasm, it is three miles, to 
Keeseville four. Just north of Port Kent is the widest, 
uninterrupted part of the lake. Three miles north of the 
landing on the west side is the sandy outlet of the 
Ausable river from which it is supposed to have re- 
ceived its name, Ausable meaning, literally, " a river of 
sand." A wooded depression in the ground above shows the 
course of the rapid river, but does not give indication of that 
wonderful chasm, " the walled banks of the Ausable," through 



24 The Adirondacks. 

which it foams and roars before its last quiet sinking away 
into the lake. Then we pass between Grand isle, belonging 
to Vermont, and the New York shore, past Valcour island, 
at the south end of which lies the " Royal Savage," sunk at 
the time of Arnold's battle with Carleton. Past Crab island, 
the burial place of the sailors and marines killed at the battle 
of Plattsburgh ; and at last the pretty village itself, on the 
west side of Cumberland bay. North of this there is little to 
engage our attention, save the continued quiet scenery of 
cultivated shore and pleasant headland, at which we will 
hastily glance and return. We pass over the scene of the 
naval engagement, in 1814; round Cumberland head, three 
miles from Plattsburgh, and northward in the narrowed chan- 
nel between the mainland and South Hero. Fifteen miles 
north of Plattsburgh is Isle La Motte ; on which, at its north 
end, a fort was erected by the French in 1665. 

On the east, between North Hero and Alburgh Tongue — 
the Point Algonquin of the French — an opening presents 
itself, the entrance to Mississquoi bay. Then 25 miles from 
Plattsburgh, 130 from Whitehall, we reach the northern ter- 
minus of the steamboat route. 

Rouse's Point. — The village is back to the south-west, a 

short distance, and not of very great importance ; owing 

nearly all that it possesses to the railroad shops there and to 

its position on the border, where the custom-house officials 

rule with customary grace, and freight and passengers are 

transferred to boat and cars, going thence to the cardinal 

points of the compass. Here the trains on the Vermont 

Central cross over the long bridges and proceed westward 

toward Ogdensburg or north to Montreal. A little way north 

of the bridge is the fort commenced sometime in the past by 

the United States, and which will, from all appearances, be in 

ruins by the time it is completed. A mile further, a low belt 

of woods mark the boundary line between the States and 

Canada. 

Plattsburgh. 

Plattsburgh is 105 miles from Whitehall ; a flourishing 
village, occupying ground on both sides of the Saranac river. 
Has a population of about 8,000. It is of considerable com- 



Plattsburgh. 25 

mercial importance, being connected with Burlington and St. 
Albans by lines of ferries, beside the regular boats, and with 
Montreal by railroad, which also runs inland to Point of 
Rocks 20 miles distant. It has a number of fine stores, public 
buildings and elegant private residences. Just out of the 
village, on the south, are the remains of the earthworks occu- 
pied by the Americans in 1814, quite well preserved yet. The 
largest, Fort Moreau, in the center ; Fort Brown, on the bank 
of the river, and Fort Scott, near the lake. About a mile 
south of the village are the old barracks, occupied occasionally 
during the late war by troops in training or preparing for the 
field; all the ruins illustrate too late a day in history, 
however, either to amount to much as antiquities, or take 
your breath away with suggestions of their former grandeur. 

Plattsburgh deals quite extensively in lumber, fire-arms, 
historical associations and hotels, of which it has three 
worthy of notice, the Cumberland House and Witherill's, both 
large and inviting structures, situated in the business portion 
of the village, and Fouquet's, near the depot and steamboat 
landing on the lake shore, peculiarly a hotel for the tourist 
and summer travel generally. 

3 



"£*ML 







Fouquet's Hotel. 



*' Fouquet's Hotel " has been a familiar sound to the travel- 
ing public for over seventy years, and the name alone carries 
with it assurance of excellence, rarely equaled in that line, 
needing no comment. 

Their American progenitor came to this country with La 
Fayette, and, remaining, opened a public house in Albany. 
His son, John L. Fouquet, in 1798, erected a hotel near the 
site occupied by the present beautiful edifice. That building, 
being first class for that period, was burned during the siege 
of 1814 by hot shot from the fort. In 181 5, a second house 
was erected on the same ground, with an improvement, both 
in style and dimensions. This, by repeated additions, had 
grown into a large and commodious establishment, but in 
June, 1864, it also was consumed. With an energy unsubdued 
by this calamity, the Messrs. D. L. Fouquet & Son commenced 
the erection of the third edifice, and the next year, on the 
same day in June in which the last had been burned, they 
opened a new hotel for the reception of guests. 



Fouquet's Hotel. 27 

The new building is an elegant and spacious structure, 
capable of accommodating one hundred and fifty guests. 
The rooms are large, well ventilated, and supplied with every- 
thing promotive of comfort and enjoyment. The broad piazzas 
on two sides of the house, and the promenade upon the roof, 
afford a wide and delightful view of the lake, the battle ground 
and the scene of the naval engagement, the village, the sur- 
rounding country and the mountains on every side. 

The second edifice flourished in the palmy times of travel- 
ing, when men journeyed at a rational speed to see and enjoy 
the country and the incidents of the road. Then the post 
coach occupied two days between Ogdensburg and Pitts- 
burgh ; but in the romance of the journey was the transit of 
the Chateaugay woods, along the government road, a distance 
of forty miles, through nearly an unbroken wilderness, where 
the traveler might frequently see deer gazing from the bushes, 
and occasionally a wolf prowling along the road. In those 
days, when a delicious, fresh salmon was in request, Fouquet 
had only to examine his net at the foot of the mill-race, or, 
that failing, to select a victim and spear him from a school 
beneath the lower bridge. 

It was for many years the annual resort of General Scott, 
who made his home here for weeks at a time ; and Capt. John 
B. Magruder, afterward confederate general, made his head- 
quarters here, while his company was stationed at the neigh- 
boring barracks. At that time the old regimental mess of 
the First U. S. Artillery gave its dinners at the Fouquet House, 
to which British officers were often invited. Many legends are 
handed down of those jolly meetings, at which " Prince John " 
was the presiding and irrepressible genius. 

The original name of this hotel was "The MacDonough 
House," named after the gallant naval officer of that name, 
who made his home here for a long time and was the personal 
friend of the first proprietor. The best likeness extant of the 
gallant hero is in possession of the present landlord. 

Among the many officers who have been, from time to time, 
quartered here and lived at this house, we may mention the 
names of Wool, Bonneville, the gallant Hooker, Kearney and 
the genial Ricketts. Gen. Worth boarded here a long time 



28 The Adirondacks. 

and Stonewall Jackson was also a friend of the house. Of all 
these officers many characteristic anecdotes are yet current in 
the neighborhood. 

The Fouquets were by nature and inclination hotel-keepers, 
and the present proprietor, L. M. Fouquet or " Lewie," as he is 
familiary called, looks upon the calling as an art that has been 
and is to be his study through life. He is a polished gentle- 
man, refined and courteous, with a large intellect ; one of 
that nervous, high-strung nature, that do whatever they un- 
dertake with all their might, and sometimes his nervous fear 
that he has in some manner failed in doing all his duty, and 
his rapid skirmishing and flighty dashes from one thing to 
another verges on the ludicrous, until we realize that it is all 
for our benefit. 

Flowers are a passion with him, his house seems like a great 
fragrant garden and the grounds animate with beauty and re- 
dolent with their odors ; the best, indeed the popular, idea of 
the place, is of a train of dusty pilgrims entering a sweet bower 
and passing out refreshed — every lady bearing a huge bouquet 
"with Mr. Fouquet's compliments." His love for flowers is 
only exceeded by one thing, a mania for advertising, which he 
is free to admit is his besetting sin, and for the life of him he 
cannot yet decide whether it pays or not. Thousands of dol- 
lars have gone in all manner of ways to bring this house 
before the public in distant places, and foreigners think 
there is no way of getting into the United States except by 
way of Fouquet's Hotel, which is supposed to be situated in 
the midst of a vast tropical garden, where perennial sweet- 
ness reigns and embryo Nimrods sport. He is irrepressible ; 
there is not the least doubt in the world, but that, cast away on 
some desert island at sunset, the morning would find it white 
with circulars containing directions as to the best way of reach- 
ing his hotel, and he seated in a bran new flower garden with 
a bouquet and his compliments in one hand for the first lady 
who should come along — engaged in an active correspond- 
ence with every railroad and steamboat company in existence, 
with the chances in his favor, that before night they would all 
be extending their lines toward his place. 



L. M. Fouquet. 



29 



Here our artist has drawn a plan of 
him, front elevation, taking the liberty 
that all great artists claim, of idealizing 
somewhat. The scene is laid in his 
garden, and the time — the exact mo- 
ment when he is supposed to be mak- 
ing a floral offering to a lady — the 
compliments, of course, being under- 
stood, as they were too ethereal for the 
artist to grasp readily — in a cut of that 
size. 

In the distance will be observed the 
summer-house and brick stable ; on the 
lake beyond, the battle of Plattsburgh 
is supposed to be raging, where, hid in 
its sulphurous smoke, the fleets of the brave Wellington and 
the invincible Farragut are engaged in deadly strife, — the 
facts were furnished by a newspaper correspondent, and this 
work of art will, without doubt, soon take its place beside the 
other great historical allegories at Washington. 

Alas ! time is flying and with it comes a sad thought — the 
last of his line and. he a batchelor — let us draw the curtain, 
there is still some hope, but little encouragement. The future 
is a blank yet to be filled out ; the present a time to work ; 
the past has had its little bit of romance and is closed over 
forever. 





THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURGH. 

It was a lovely morning in August, in 1492, when occurred 
the accident from which the village received its name. The 
glorious orb of day — the sun — cast his resplendent beams 
athwart the flower-decked bay, and was reflected back in 
glittering splendor from the myriad icicles that gemmed 
the pagoda on Cumberland head. Not a breath rippled the 
quiet bosom of the lake, as with swelling sails the Roman 
fleet swept around the point and bore down on the undis- 
mayed Turks, who stood their ground on the vasty deep like 
statues carved in living stone. 

The attacking squadron, under Commodore Columbus, con- 
sisted of the flagship Santa Maria Smitha, the Mayflower, 
Captain Ben. Butler, the ram Ganouskie, and a large fleet of 
savage-looking canal boats. Of the above, the Mayflower, 
Capt. Butler, carried the most metal, also the largest bore ; 
and although not belonging properly to that deal, had slipped 
in past the custom-house by connivance of an official, who had 
reason to feel grateful toward the commander. 

The Greek fleet consisted of the Vermont, Minne-ha-ha — 
Hiawatha, commander; Adirondack, Oakes Ames and others. 

" Holt," thundered Commodore Inman, as the enemy can- 
tered up : 

u Our Flagg is on the peak 

And we'll never Hulett down. 
While Columbia can squeak 

Anderson's can save the town. 
Rushlow down, Root — not rest, 

Bring the Grand Cannon, boys, 
We'll give them Babbitt's best, 

And never mind the Noyes." 



The Battle of Plattsburgh. 31 

Lurid lightning belched from the shivering flues ; the 
ticking of a watch could not be heard in the battle's din; 
while the tottering air reeled beneath the fierce volume of 
tobacco smoke that tainted the fish for miles around, and 
covered the country so that scarcely an honest man could 
be seen in the legislature. 

On shore the engagement was terrific. "My spoons! oh, 
my spoons!" shrieked Fouquet, as he saw the Mayflower 
round Cumberland House head ; " Witherill I fly for safety ? 
To horse, to horse ; there are many pleasant drives around. 
Hang out the posters on the outer walls. Through tickets 
allow you to stop over. Martin to the front. Bartlett guard 
well the outlet. Pol swoop down on the enemy with your 
St. Regis braves like a moose on a sick punkie. Charge, 
men, charge. Put it in the bill; give them the devil — I 
mean the daffodil — with my compliments. To arms, to arms ; 
man the breastworks ; I'll not falter, though twenty times a 
batchelor." 

Fiercely the battle raged ; bravely they fought and 
well, until the quaking air was thick with glor}^ and every 
tree sheltered its man. Oh, right glorious sight was it to 
behold the royal Africans as they rushed up, scenting the 
battle from afar. Oh, kingly joy to see the Vandal hosts 
swept as a wisp of smoke along the blackened plain. Mighty 
deeds were done, and individual instances of Jove-like courage 
leaked out in after years. A strange knight appeared sud- 
denly on the field ; whence, none knew. Some said from the 
hub of the universe, and wrought fearful slaughter with 
the long-bow, while his wild battle-cry rang out on the 
affrighted air: " Murraytotherescueaskjohn." The brilliant 
General Average was there and did nobly. Sheridan-twenty- 
miles-away waved his dripping decanter in the thickest of 
the fight, cheering the men onward, while General Major 
flashed everywhere. " If any one attempts to haul down the 
American bottle, shoot him on the spot," were the last words 
worth mentioning of the gallant Dix, as he fell badly 
wounded by a cold-water bombshell ; he was cheerfully 
attended by Dr. Bixby, of the Republican, and, of course, never 
recovered. 



32 The Adirondack^. 

Soon other reinforcements began to arrive. Fred. Averill's 
dragoons came in Harper & Tuft's four-horse coaches. Kel- 
logg advanced from Long lake, and Martin came Moodily- 
over from Tuppers. Old Mountain Phelps slid down into the 
enemy, creating a panic in the commissary department ; while 
Mother Johnson turned such a fierce fire of hot pancakes to- 
ward them that they fell back in confusion, and when Bill Nye 
arrived with his mounted Amazons, they fled totally routed 
seeing which, the attacking fleet withdrew, badly riddled, the 
commodore's ship to discover America, the Mayflower only 
floating long enough to land its commander on Plymouth 
Rock, where he climbed into the gubernatorial chair and re- 
mained there until he was translated in a chariot of fire — 
which way the historian fails to state. 

Thus ended this stupendous, double-headed battle, which 
gave liberty and the divine right of the franchise to four mil- 
lion Hottentots, and placed Plattsburgh on the same footing 
as the Declaration of Independence, and the glorious Fourth 
of July. Scream on, proud bird, scream on ! 

Postscript, a. d. 1874. — An ancient manuscript, just 
brought to light, claims that the battle of Plattsburgh was 
fought on Sunday morning, September 11, 1814, Commodore 
Downie and Sir George Provost on the British side, against 
Commodore Macdonough and Gen. McComb on the American. 
It further states that the fleets were nearly equal, the position 
of the Americans about balancing the superior metal of the 
enemy, whose vessels struck their colors and surrendered one 
by one ; the Americans, 3,000 strong, entrenched on shore, 
successfully beat back the 14,000 English, and caused them to 
retreat when night came. If there is any truth in this sensa- 
tional account of the battle, the attacking party lost very 
heavily, which served them right for breaking the Sabbath. 

There are many pleasant drives around Plattsburgh. Among 
them, one around Cumberland bay and one of especial in- 
terest south along the lake shore fording the Ausable river 
near its outlet, twelve miles distant, then passing up and 
through that grand freak of nature, the Ausable chasm. 

Clinton Prison, at Dannemora, is 16 miles distant, and a 
very pleasant drive — when taken voluntarily. It is at an ele- 



The Chateaugay. 33 

vation of 1,700 feet above Plattsburgh ; the ground sloping 
gently off into Lake Champlain and northward into the 
Canadas. Guides are furnished and visitors allowed to in- 
spect the prison workshops and the ore-bed. They always 
have a number of people of leisure here, who, in this quiet 
retreat, pass their time in meditation, making shoes, cracking 
stone, etc. They are usually steady boarders and very select. 

Chazy lake is five miles farther, and noted for its trout, in 
which some find a peculiarly good flavor; they are taken in 
large quantities when found ; it is about four miles long by 
one and a half broad, and has a comfortable hotel. Lion 
mountain is the highest point near by. 

Chateaugay Lake is six miles west of Chazy lake, three 
by a rather rough road to Bradley pond, the balance a mere 
path. The upper lake is five miles long, by about two wide, with 
alternate sandy beach and rocky shores ; there is a good sum- 
mer hotel, a number of small boarding, and some very pretty 
private houses here, owned by " city folk;" three miles of 
winding stream toward the north, known as the narrows, leads 
into the lower lake, which is nearly the same length ; it has a 
good hotel and a little steam yacht for the use of pleasure 
parties. From the outlet, it is eight miles over a comfortable 
carriage road to the railroad at Chateaugay. Seven miles 
from the outlet of the lower lake, the river is passing 
through a rift in the rocks, fifty feet deep, and very like 
that of Ausable Chasm, when it suddenly plunges off in an 
annost unbroken sheet as many more, then goes onward in 
a succession of rapids and cascades, between wild and broken 
walls, the scenery for a mile of its course being grand in the 
extreme ; the foot of the fall can be reached through a ravine 
on the east ; on the west side is a perpendicular wall of iron- 
stained rock ; over the fall, the rocks on either side approach 
each other, and it is said that once a white man, pursued by 
the Indians, leaped across, while they, appearing on the other 
side, gazed down into the gulf and the water, flashing fifty 
feet below, declined to take the risk and allowed him to es- 
cape without further pursuit. 

The Arnold Ore Bed, at Verona, three miles north of 
Point of Rocks, is a pleasant excursion, full of interest and 



34 The Adirondacks. 

instruction. It was discovered in 1806 by Stephen Baker, 
who, in crossing through the woods one day, discovered where 
a pine tree had been blown over, and in its fall torn up the earth 
around its roots, laying bare several yards of blue iron ore ; 
he carried a piece to a blacksmith forge, and ascertained that 
it was of a very fine, tractile quality ; being of small means, 
he " laid " with three others ; one of them Elisha Arnold, 
afterward State Senator, who went on horseback to Albany, 
thence by sloop to New York, to Judge Winters, its owner, 
who, for $800, gave a deed of the land containing the bed ; as 
Mr. Arnold left the house, he met a man who had been watch- 
ing the iron finders for some time, and divining his object in 
coming here, followed him to New York, evidently in the hope 
of making something out of the information he had ; in this 
he entirely failed ; the mine was soon opened, and up to 1857 
over 150,000 tons of ore had been raised; from that time it 
has had alternate times of rest and work, but since the rail- 
road was built, has been in successful operation. 




CHAPTER III. 



Narrative. 

ING up the curtain to low, sweet music, the 
music of a September night, the blending of the 
myriad voices of the swamp into one long mono- 
tone, that seems to make you, wherever you 
stand and listen, its center. The scene is a dark 
waste of water, up out of which grow reeds 
and coarse grasses, that sway back and forth 
with the surging waves ; over at the west is a 
low range of bluffs ; on the east are mountains ; 
near by, dusky white strips run here and there, 
beyond which a broader one reflects the 
cloudy sky, dark bodies are moving slowly 
kls along and lights twinkle as they pass to and 

fro; beyond, and to the south, a high hill rises up, belted with 
strings of stars ; at its base they hang in clusters ; they sepa- 
rate and pass up and down, are swung in circles, disappear and 
appear again in a most curious manner, and faintly comes the 
voices of the boatmen, the drivers, the lock-tenders, and the 
busy hum of the distant village. At the north, where the 
western wall comes down, the solid rock is notched out, over 
which rises the rocky crests of a mountain range, while away 
beyond winds the marsh-embordered rock-hemmed waters of 
Lake Champlain. 

A low, rumbling sound comes from the south, then the solid 
wall that shuts us in on that side seems riven asunder, and from 
out the earth, with breath of flame, and eye of fire gleaming 




36 The Adirondacks. 

out ahead, thunders the night express. Across the marsh, 
it comes, bringing in its train a host of lesser lights, and 
with a shriek that clashes sharply and is broken into a con- 
fused din of echoes, it plunges into the northern wall, through 
the narrow cut to the other side, and with the hiss of escaping 
steam, the noisy clanging of its bell, the rattling of iron rods 
and links, the trembling, jerking and swaying of the long 
coaches, as the brakes are drawn hard against the moving 
wheels ; then with the dying roar of its subsiding power, the 
iron monster rests at the end of its journey. Just for the mo- 
ment we feel the hush. 

l « the rest of the tide between the ebb and the flow." 

Then the nature of the sounds change, the quick, sharp 
words of command, of shouting and confusion, the shut- 
fling of feet, as streams of life pour out from the various 
coaches, and converging, flow over the broad plank on to 
the boat that has been waiting to receive them ; there is no 
need of asking the way ; it is plain to all, for while on the left 
is nothing but darkness and a dingy, uninviting pile of build- 
ings, on the right rises a great mass of white, with moving 
forms and flashing light ; windows bright, with stained glass 
and frosted silver, rising tier on tier, begirt with beams 
and rods of iron, and above all, coming up from the fires be- 
low, wave banners of flame, whose fiery particles separating, 
dance away and are lost in the darkness. Whew ! What a 
storm, not a thunder storm exactly, although there are indi- 
cations of the sulphurous in the language sometimes heard, but 
a shower of baggage ; it rains trunks, boxes, satchels, bun- 
dles, bags, from the car which has been brought to a stop 
directly in front of the gang-plank, and a double stream of 
trucks, drawn and propelled by stalwart men, go down under 
huge loads, and, coming up empty, run and wheel and dodge 
about, appearing always on the point of, but never actually 
getting run over. 

Through all the confusion the man who seems to have, the 
least to do stands quietly by the rail, seeing every thing, but 
saying nothing, unless occasionally to give a command in a 
low tone ; then, as the last truck load is on the move, he 



Under Weigh. 37 

touches a cord at his hand, a bell up in the pilot house tinkles, a 
few quick strokes on the big bell follows, the last man rushes 
over the plank, which is pulled aboard, and the great hawsers 
are cast off; then, again, the little bell, up where the pilot stands 
signifies that the boat is from thence out under his control, 
and he is responsible for her safety. Now, down along the 
wires to the engine-room the message goes ; we hear the long 
hollow breathing of the steam as it rushes into the cylinder; 
the ponderous beam above tips slowly on its center; the 
wheels seem stepping on the water as they revolve ; the great 
mass swings out into the channel, and moves away through 
the night like a great pearl surrounded by a luminous atmos- 
phere. A little shining world all alone by itself. 

Thus we saw it one night in 
the autumn of '73. We means 
the professor and myself. Who 
the professor is, or what he pro- 
fesses, doesn't matter, as long 
as this is a non-professional 




trip ; but it may be of interest 
considering the field selected 
for our observations to know 
that the professor is not actually 
stupendous, either in length, 
breadth or thickness, and not 
particular about his diet ; perish the thought ! He simply 
abstains from the absorption of that mysterious compound 
known as hash, on account of the uncertainty of its origin. 
Revolts at sight of sausages, as it is unpleasantly suggestive 
of a dear little dog that he once loved. Can't endure cream 
in his coffee, because it "looks so, floating round on top," 
and whose heart bleeds and appetite vanishes if an unlucky 
fly chances to take a hot bath in his tea. To these peculi- 
arities, add a disposition to see the fun in his own forlornness, 
and with boyishness dyed in the wool, the professor stands 
before you. As for the author of this, perhaps the least said 
the better. He hasn't the heart to say any thing bad, and a 
determination to confine himself strictly to facts, interferes 
somewhat with the glowing eulogy struggling to find vent ; 

4 



38 The Adirondacks. 

suffice it to say, that nature was very lavish in the bestowal 
of longitude, although not noticeably so in regard to latitude, 
giving also a disposition to dare, and a physical develop- 
ment capable of enduring a vast amount of arduous rest. 
Going — the dainty professor and ease-loving writer, enthu- 
siastic sportsman, with neither gun, rod, umbrella or other 
instrument of death, armed only with sketch and note-book, 
and hearts to drink in the glories of the great wild woods 
— to the mountains for health and strength to frames not 
over strong. 

We found ourselves on board the " Vermont," the largest 
of the Champlain steamers ; and as it swung out into the 
channel, went out forward, up odd little pieces of stairway 
and canvass side bills ; ducked under and climbed over iron 
rods and groped along in the darkness on the hurricane deck 
to the pilot-house. 

As we entered, our eyes becoming accustomed to the dark- 
ness, made out the form of Rockwell, the chief pilot, with 
two assistants, wrestling with the many-spoked wheel, which 
throbbed and trembled as they forced it over to one side, 
while the lights ahead seemed to swing swiftly past as we 
swept around a sharp bend in the channel. 

A quick, low word of command, and the chain rattled and 
the wheel spun around like lightning as they jumped away 
from it. 

"Now," said the pilot. 

Six hands pattered on the polished spokes, and the air 
seemed full of clawing, jumping shadows. 

" Over with her." 

The wheel creaked and snapped with the strain brought to 
bear on it ; the lights away out ahead, that had passed across 
to the right, now raced wildly back to the left, and we circled 
around in the darkness, out of which, into the circle of light 
that surrounded us, came reedy shores and low lines of 
bushes, seeming almost to brush against us as we passed. 

"Steady now. Good evening, gentlemen." 

The last half of the sentence, while it was friendly, was evi- 
dently intended as a sort of reconnoissance. It had inquiry 
in it, and said plainly, " I want to hear the sound of your 
voice." 



The Pilot. 



39 



We said, "Good evening." 

" Up a little — I know your voice — steady — let me see — 
let her run — Oh, yes ; I remember now," and he greeted me 
cordially by name . " I saw you — hold her there — last sum- 
mer. You came up here, and this other gentleman was with 
you. I didn't recognize your voice at first — hard over; 
that light's out again — you are a little hoarse ; you ought to 
take something for that." 

" We were ; a trip to the mountains." 

He said "it was an excellent plan to crowd her against the 
bank there let her chaw the re-action will clear her wished 
he could luff a point boys pass his life among the grand 
things hug the shore a little closer and look through 
nature up to nature's wind a little flawy, and she's down at 
the head. Then he sandwiched Beecher between Susan B. 
Anthony and Victoria C. Woodhull ; said she was light aft, and 
clawed to starboard; asked if we could fully indorse Pro- 
fessor Tyndall's theory of nebular hegira ; ruined the reputa- 
tion of Andromedea and Cassiopia, and other heavenly bodies 
by hopelessly entangling them with Butler and Massachusetts 
politics. Thought the Greek slave a perfect figure ; said she 
sucked mud through here, sometimes, and they had to be 
careful of her flues. Wanted to know if we had given the 
evolement of solar faculae much thought ; descended with 
Darwin to our remote progenitors ; gyrated among the wheel- 
ing constellation; floated awhile through eternity; touched 
on the creation ; paddled around with Noah ; got lost with 
the children of Israel ; skittered along down through the 
dark ages ; said it wasn't going to rain ; which suggested 
Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot's wife ; wondered how many 
the Shah averaged, and thought he was no such man as the 
ridiculously proper Joseph. Admired Joan of Arc — said she 
carried an awful head of steam ; but her boilers were good, 
undoubtedly, or Mr. Root would have made a fuss about it. 
Then he wanted our opinion as to the probable origin of 
creative energy and of the cohesive materialism of latent force. 
Shades of Egypt ! the professor wilted, and we had to admit 
that Moses himself couldn't get us out of the scientific wilder- 
ness, and Rockwell thought Moses wasn't much of a pilot 



40 The Adirondacks. 

any way. And speaking of military men, he said " Phil. 
Sheridan is a brick ; just as full of fun as an egg of meat." 
He tells the following, which the general himself related 
when he, with the president and family, passed through the 
lake in 1872. They were at the "Thousand Islands," when 
one day Sheridan wandered off alone and came across an old 
farmer, with whom he entered into conversation, and ended 
by offering him a drink from his brandy flask. The old 
fellow took a generous draught ; and, when pressed, even a 
second. Then, as the general was leaving, he suddenly be- 
thought himself that he would like to know who it was that 
carried such good liquor. " Who be ye? " said he. "Who've 
I had the honor of drinking with ? " 

"My name's Sheridan," said the General. "No, be it 
though ; ye ain't any relation to General Sheridan be ye ? " 

"Well, rather. I'm General Sheridan!" 

" Ye ain't t/witg/i," said the old farmer, who had a profound 
reverence for the hero of Winchester, whom he considered 
the greatest man living, hardly able to believe that he under- 
stood aright, " hev I been drinking with General Sheridan 
himself?" 

" Yes, sir," said little Phil, pompously straightening up and 
enjoying the effects of his words, " you have had the honor 
of a drink out of General Philip Sheridan's own brandy 
flask." 

The old chap gazed at the short, thick-set form before him, 
then a " sold " expression came over him, and his look of 
blended wonder and reverence changed to disgust, as he 
growled out, " Not — by — a — damn — site — little — feller — Gene- 
ral — Sheridan'sover — seven — feet — high." 

Phil left, feeling that he had tried to pass himself off for a 
great man, and been caught in the act. 

Thus, the pilot mixed art, science, physics and navigation, 
together; with an eye that never relaxed its vigilant watch out 
head, peering into the darkness, seeming to feel rather than 
see the channel ; now shunning a dusky mass that proves to 
be solid shore when it comes within our circle of light, anon 
plunging into a deep abyss of darkness, apparently right into 
the mountain-side, whose shadowy form dances away as the 



The Pilot. 



4i 



eye seeks to fix its outline. Twisting about, now to the right, 
now to the left, now circling around a lamp hung out as a 
guide, then away toward others, that seem passing and repass- 
ing each other, as the boat sways to and fro, never touching, 
although, in places, a deviation the width of the boat to 
the right or left, would bring it on the muddY banks. Creep 
ing onward through the night, at times seeming to hang out 
over the reeds, anon, waking a whole swarm of hissing, chuck- 
ling echoes, as we run close under a rocky wall ; through the 
narrow west channel out across a dusky plane of light, to touch 
at a lonely looking dock ; then onward, into broader strips 
of water and under the frowning promontory of Ticonderoga, 
then we went below. 

Here, on the main deck, which on shore would be recep- 
tion-room or general office, as the night advances, is to be 
found a motley gathering of all grades and degrees ; some are 
doubled up to the seats which run along the sides and down 
through the middle, where, with mouths opened and hats 
tipped jauntily down over musical noses, they are enjoying 
a blissful repose ; others indicate their right to wear bristles, 

by occupying two or three compartments 
of the same, and have worked themselves 
into a terrible chaotic state by limp attempts 
to accommodate their forms to the alter- 
nate soft cushions, and iron arms which sepa- 
rate them. Here lounges a jabbering group 
of laborers, probably destined to 
operate at some point on the New 
York and Canada railway, now 
being built along 
the west shore, and 
there on the floor, 
where it is neces- 
sary to step over 
or among 
them, to 
pass, is 




42 1/he Adirondack^. 



"Lo!" the poor Indian 

( SHORTFELIOW. ) 

Should you ask me of this people, 
Saying, who are these that gather 
By themselves, and lying, slumber 
In the night-time in the gang-way, 
I should answer, I should tell you : 

'Tis the children of the forest, 
'Tis the mighty Indian nation, 
Stealing, like the silent Arab, 
Homeward, — for it is their nature, — 
To their gracious queen's dominion, 
From some giddy haunt of fashion 
Where they pitched their birchen wigwam, 
Made of hemlock boards and bed-quilts, 
And " pursued the simple calling 
Practiced by the gentle savage," 
Sleeping days, and nightly prowling 
Where the laden clothes-line fiappeth, 
And the timid chicken roosteth. 

See that untaught child of nature 
With the proud and kingly bearing, 
With a heart that knows not terror, 
Wrap his raglan close around him. 
Sleeps — and like an untamed porker, 
Kicks and snorts in native freedom ; 
Heir to all the land about him 
With the proof upon his person, 
Fearing naught but soap and water 
That might take his birthright from him. 

See ! the mother of her people 
Sleeps the sleep of sweet contentment, 
With her nose and toes upturning 
And her native snore uprising 
With its wild reverberations 
Through the snags of yellow ivory 
Like the winds of ocean raving 
'Mong the reefs and crags chaotic 
Of some wave-washed reeking cavern ; 
Or the wild tornado sweeping, 
Through the lightning-riven hemlock ; 

See the dusky Indian maiden, 
Graceful as the bending willow, 
Sprawling 'round among the warriors, 
Mingling with the dogs promiscuous, 
With an air of free abandoti 
And of comfort, quite refreshing ; 
See ! with modesty retiring, 



" Lo ! the poor Indian." 43 

From the rude gaze of the public, 

They have drawn their scanty clothing 

Close about their lovely faces, 

Thus to hide their tender blushes. 

Length we see was not essential 

To the fashion of their garments ; 

Not voluminous their raiment ; 

Nor elastic in its nature, 

And in truth the pictured story 

Is at least unique and novel, 

For when drawn above their faces 

It must lack in other places. 

Thus they gather, gather, gather ; 
In the night-time and the gang-way, 
Old and young and middle-aged, 
Squaw and Pappoose, Dog and warrior, 
Interlaced and intermingled 
Like the fish-worms in a bait-box, 
Human hash of doubtful gender, 
Dream of chaos, radiating 
Legs and arms and sounds mysterious, 
Odors earthly and of spirits. 
Come of contact with the pale-face. 

Lo ! the poor but honest Ingin, 
With his dark eye full of sadness, 
Full of rayless, hopeless longing, 
Gazing backward, ever backward 
To that happy time now vanished, 
When he wandered o'er the prairie, 
O'er the mountain and the fenland, 
Through the dark and tangled wildwood, 
Free as bird or winds of ocean 
Or the scurrying mists of cloudland, 
Drifting, drifting, flitting, passing 
Out upon that boundless ocean, 
To the unknown, the hereafter, 
Vanishing before the pale-face, 
Melting like the fleeting sour- 
Kraut before a famished Dutchman. 

Sic transit gloria mundi 

Nine illce lacry7ti(e. 

Jupiter was high up in the east, shining like a young moon, 
and faint signs of coming day were apparent when we left the 
steamer, and passing into the shadow of that architectural 
triumph on the dock at Port Kent, got into the waiting stage 
and set out for Keeseville. Climbing the hill a ride of three 
miles over what we took to be a "corderoy," but which we 
were informed was the remains of a plank-road, brought us 



44 



The Adirondacks. 



to Birmingham Falls at the head of Ausable Chasm ; here 
the professor and I alighted on the steps of the hotel while 
the stage proceeded on its way to Keeseville, a little more than 
a mile distant, 

The Chasm House is one of those large comfortable looking 
old stone houses with generous apartments, great roomy win- 
dow seats and an air of substantial home comfort about it not 
often found in hotels ; it was built for a private residence and 
altered over to accommodate travelers when the growing 
interest felt in the Chasm demanded a place of entertainment, 
having accommodations for about 20 guests, and is a very 
pleasant quiet place to stop at. The proprietor H. H. Brom- 
ley, is a jolly, easy-going sort of fellow, ever ready to devote 
himself to his guests, not seeming to own himself when they 
are around, and withal a pleasant companion on the various 
excursions to be taken from his house. Soon a shuffling sound 
was heard within, a light appeared in the hall, the door was 
thrown open, and there, with hair awry, one eye half open, and 
arrayed in a partially adjusted pair of pants, with wonder on 

his phiz and a lamp in his hand, 
stood the proprietor. " Well-by- 
thunder," he remarked by way of 
greeting, recognizing one of his vis- 
itors ; then his six-foot-form assumed 
the appearance of a wet rag as he 
dropped back and apparently hung 
himself up against the door-post 
while he went through the form of 
an ecstatic laugh without the slightest 
sound escaping his lips. We couldn't 
see any thing funny, and I don't 
think he had the least particle of an 
idea of what he was laughing at, but 
he seemed to drop off into a laugh, simply because it required 
less exertion than to keep sober. Then we went inside, our 
host foraged around for pillows and blankets and retired to 
his bed once more, while we curled down on a pair of sofas, 
getting another night's rest and rising refreshed to partake of 
a late breakfast and to do the wonderful Ausable Chasm. 




VVELL-B Y-THU N DER. 




AUSABLE CHASM. 



CHAPTER IV. 



AUSABLE CHASM. 




LITTLE depression in the otherwise level 
country, a wooded valley with gently slop- 
ing sides, marks the site of this grand won- 
der — aYosemite in miniature almost at the 
doors of the great city, and curiously 
enough, comparatively unknown. The river 
flowing quietly along the valley from the 
south and west, passes Keeseville, plunges 
over Alice Falls, square against a solid wall 
of rock, turns at right angles and, wheeling 
around in confused swirls, now right, now 
left, falls in a mass of foam over the rocks 
at Birmingham, then hurrying downward 
between towering cliffs and over rocks 
where the sun never shines, emerges from the gloom out into 
the glorious sunlight, and onward to mingle with the muddy 
waters of Lake Champlain. 

This freak of nature is not alone of its kind, but one of a sys- 
tem of rents in the earth's surface that probably extend all over 
the northern portion of the State, the most noticeable of the 
others being at Chateaugay Falls; on the Opalescent, and higher 
up on the east and west branches of the Ausable. Neither are 
we to say how or when they were formed ; the walls that now are 
from ten to fifty feet apart, were undoubtedly sometime united 
and solid ; projections on the one hand are often faced by 
corresponding depressions on the other ; layers of rock on 
one side duplicated on the other. Prof. Emmons, State geolo- 
gist, found here petrified specimens of the lowest or first 
orders of animal life, and ripple marks made when the rock 
was in its plastic state ; above these in successive layers, towers 
seventy feet of solid rock. 



Ausable Chasm. 47 

Who can say what ages have passed away since the restless 
sea beat upon that unknown shore and left the mark of its 
wavelets for us to wonder at, thought is lost away back in the 
eternity of "the beginning," when darkness was upon the 
face of the deep, then came the dawn of creation and in 
its full light the lowest of animal creatures lived their brief 
day and added their mite to the ocean's bottom, which was 
gradually lifted above the surface, and drying, cracked as we 
sometimes see clay in the road, sun dried after a summer's 
shower. Time came and went, long ages rolled away and 
floods swept over the uneasy world that reeled and staggered 
under the pulsation of its mighty heart of fire; in places the 
thin shell bubbled up into mountain ridges, and breaking, 
cooled ; then came the glacial period when great ice-bergs 
passed across, grinding uplifted points to atoms, and, carrying 
huge boulders onward in their course, dropped them miles 
from where they were taken ; then the waters fled away, the 
seams and cracks were filled with the rich alluvium, holding in 
its bosom the germs of vegetable life that in time covered the 
world with a mantle of beauty. The yearly rains descended, 
the waters from the mountains swept downward through the 
valleys, carrying all before them, the loose deposit that 
once filled the walled banks of the Ausable, floated outward 
into Lake Champlain, and left revealed the main artery in 
this wonderful network of rifted rock. 

Until recently there had been but little done to open the 
chasm to the comfortable inspection of the public. Some 
parts had probably never been visited, and there were but two 
or three places where it was considered safe to climb down 
into the gorge. However, in 1873, a company of Philadelphians 
secured nearly all the land surrounding, have commenced 
the erection of a hotel near by, and built stairways, galleries 
and bridges so that nearly the entire length can now be 
traversed with comfort, the remainder in a boat. 

Passing through the " Lodge " — the Professor, Bromley and 

I — and descending by a stairway of 125 steps to the bottom, 

we passed up into the spray from the cataract, which, divided 

Jnjthe center, falls in almost unbroken sheets a distance of 

seventy feet, hurries northward to the Horseshoe Falls, pass- 



4 8 



The Adirondacks. 



ing over which it butts squarely against the wall at the Elbow, 
and turning to the east goes swiftly onward in its narrow, 
tortuous channel. 




BIRMINGHAM FALLS. 



The cave known as the " Devil's Oven " is a hole in the 
rock about thirty feet deep by twenty high, which we entered, 
feeling that it would do no harm to get accustomed to the 
thing, as there is a good deal of uncertainty concerning the 
future. We found it much more comfortable than the name 
would lead one to expect ; and here let me remark that his 
majesty seems to own considerable real estate in the neigh- 
borhood, claiming, beside the "Oven," a "Pulpit," "Easy 
Chair," "Anvil," "Stairway" and, of course, a " Punch Bowl." 
Here, at the left, the waters break through " Hell Gate," into 
the eddy called the "Punch Bowl." Just above the "Oven " 



Au sable Chasm. 



49 






a light bridge is thrown across the foaming torrent and a set of 
nearly one hundred steps lead zig-zag up over the point and 
down on the other side, then along a galley to the bridge of 
the " Mystic Gorge," a crevasse leading off at right angles with 
the main fissure toward the north and continued in a similar 
opening on the south. 

" What is that called ? " said we, allud- 
ing to a huge rock that towered up al- 
most over our heads, across the Chasm. 
Bromley scratched his head and regretted 
that he had been unable to find a name 
for it yet. Poor fellow ! he has done 
well, and already shows signs of approach- 
ing baldness, caused by frequent attempts 
to dig out appropriate and nice sounding 
names for the many objects of interest 
near by. " Call it Moses," suggested the 
Professor, and " Moses " it was chris- 
tened by unanimous consent. "Who 
was Moses ? " The question was asked 
soberly, and a quiet individual who had 
joined us, with a book in his hand and a 
semi-ministerial hang to his clothes, proceeded to tell us in 
good faith, as he supposed the question was asked by an 
anxious inquirer after knowledge. How insignificant we felt 
looking up at the strip of blue sky, the great river walls and the 
dark tower of rocks above us — " henceforth shall you be called 
Moses ; fit emblem of thy namesake who stood face to face 
with the great Creator amidst the thunderings of Mount Sinai." 
A little further on the gallery runs along half way up the 
almost perpendicular side of the Chasm, around " Point ot 
Rocks " to the " Smugglers' Pass " nearly opposite which is 
" Howe's Cave," along past the Post-office, suggested by the 
honeycombed rock at the side showing deposits made by the 
water in times of floods thirty feet above its present level, then 
over and down on " Table Rock." Here they end, and stepping 
into a boat we can be set over — we can almost jump across — 
and stand under the " Sentinel " and " Cathedral Rocks ." 

5 




5o 



The Adirondack^. 




CATHEDRAL ROCKS. 



Now for some ways down (I could not judge of the distance, 
for the senses seemed overwhelmed with the grandeur of the 
scene) the water runs straight away, shut in by walls reach- 
ing perpendicularly up, and so near together that it 
seems as though you could almost leap across from one 
to the other, then turns squarely again toward the north. 
We stepped into the little flat-bottomed boats, and Bromley, 
seizing the paddle like the grim ferryman of the Styx, with 
one of his silent though hearty laughs pushed out into the 
stream. The swift water caught us and we were whirled on- 
ward, under the great walls, and carried swiftly down the 
stream. Once, where the water scooped downward over a 
rock and then curled over, as if trying to climb backward 
upon itself, it came in over the sides, wetting us slightly, but 
we passed onward into the lower gateway, where the water 



Keeseville. 51 

piled up in the centre, and lifted us like cork on molten lead, 
then out into the eddy under the protecting point, whence we 
climbed up out of the depths to the surface of the earth, glad 
to get out into the clear sunlight once more. We had left the 
world above, descended to Hell Gate, cooled off in the Devils 
Oven, ascended and descended Jacob's Ladder in any- 
thing but an Angelic state of perspiration, moralized over 
Moses, wondered what mystery there was about the mystic 
gorge, scrambled mildly past Point Surprise, gazed rever- 
ently up at the Devil's pulpit, ran the Sentinel, and after a 
tempestuous voyage in a gallant scow, effected a masterly 
landing, and were glad to get out, for while we felt that it was 
good to be there where we realized our own insignificance, it 
came to be oppressive at last, and we felt with Will Carlton 
that 

" To appreciate heaven, well 
It is good for a man to have some fifteen minutes of hell." 

If unwilling to take the boat ride, which is ordinarily per- 
fectly safe, you can ascend the old stairway in Cathedral Rocks 
to the level above where the carriages meet those who do not 
wish to return through the Chasm and where refreshments 
can be procured if desired. 

Here and at the "Lodge" entrance also, will be found 
photographs of the many points of interest throughout the 
Chasm, among them, many that are actually works of art. 
The kind universally acknowledged best are known as the 
"Crystal," and sold at $2.50 per dozen; next are those pub- 
lished by Purveyance, which are excellent although lacking 
the needle-like sharpness and delicacy of the former. W. G. 
Baldwin at Keeseville is general agent for all kinds, and his 
rooms at that place are well worth a visit. (See catalogue of 
views on page 197.) 

KEESEVILLE. 

At Keeseville we dropped in on our genial, eccentric old 
friend Lansing, of the Republican, for information ; because 
editors know all about everything, and as they don't have to 
work it relieves the monotony of their idle life, by allowing 
them to contribute something for the benefit of anxious seek- 



V 



The Adirondacks. 



ers after knowledge — we were made happy. Keeseville is 
situated on the Ausable river, about five miles from its mouth 
and is a thoroughly wide-awake little village, not set upon a 
hill, actually, but rather the reverse, and a person wading 
across the sandy plain on either side will be surprised when 
he reaches the front of the hill to see so much life and busi- 
ness in the hollow below. The water-power is immense, and 
utilized by the twine, wire and horse-nail manufacturers — the 
latter being the principal industry of the town. There are 
also several elegant private residences, churches and stores, 
built of Potsdam sandstone, which here abounds. 




AUSABLE HOUSE. 



The Ausable House is kept by E. Averil, who, although 
young in the business, keeps an exceptionally good hotel, and 
has earned for himself a host of friends among the pleasure 
seeking public. The house will accommodate nearly a hundred 
guests, the rooms large, with high ceilings, nicely furnished 
throughout, beds good, table well supplied, and what is consid- 
ered, by some, better than this even, always clean, fresh and 
attractive. See page 167. 

Connected with the house is the well kept livery of Harper 
& Tufts, veteran stagers both, who run lines in all directions 
centering in Keeseville ; meeting the boats both day and night 
at Port Kent, the trains on the N. Y. & Canada Railroad at 



Keeseville. 53 

Peru, and up along the Ausable river to the Saranac Lakes 
via Whiteface Mountain and Wilmington notch when desired. 
See routes, page 156. 

The Ausable Horse Nail Co. was organized in 1862 with a 
capital stock of $80,000. Now, the shares are valued at fabu- 
lous prices, due, it would seem, to the company's possession of 

the right to use the little machines by which the nails are 
shaped, the invention of Daniel Dodge, who unlike most in- 
ventors, has made money out of it. Here they' have over 50 
of the little machines in operation, capable of turning out 
1 50 pounds each, finished nails per day, 100 nails to the pound, 
and worth, on an average, 24 cents per pound. 

One firm, that of W. Mould & Son, deserves especial notice 
for their Yankee push and enterprise. The elder member of 
the firm has long been a moving power in every scheme of 
progress started in the village, and his presence is felt in many 
places where his name does not appear. Their store is a won- 
der in its way, a curious mixture of city elegance and country 
heterogeneousness ; there are found railroad tickets and per- 
fumery, periodicals and prescriptions, real estate and fishing 
tackle, black-fly ointment and works of art. In the same 
building is Baldwin's photograph store, where will be found 
the largest collection of photographs, large and small, of the 
Ausable Chasm, and the Adirondack region in general, north 
of New York, which may be of interest to some in these 
days when everybody is " making a book " of views. 

The nail-rod works — On the road between Keeseville 
and the Chasm, are also well worth a visit. See that mass ot 
iron as it is brought from the furnace door, glowing with heat, 
scintillating and spluttering like a young fourth of July ; the 
tongs which grasp this lump of fire are suspended by a chain 
from a wheel which runs along the iron track over head. Now 
it is swung around under the great trip-hammer which 
descends, softly at first then swifter as the glowing loop 
shrinks down weeping tears of blood. Another heat and it 
is passed through between iron rollers having grooves of 
various sizes running around, through the largest first, then 
a size smaller, and this repeated until it gets too cold to work 
or is as required. 



54 The Adirondacks. 

Once more they come from the furnaces, glowing red, and 
as the flat bars pass through the last set of rollers it comes 
forth nearly round. Now it is passed rapidly through, back 
and forth, each time lengthening out farther than before, and 
as it is constantly forced along it writhes and squirms about 
on the black floor like a serpent of fire — a string of red hot 
iron seventy to eighty feet in length. This is nail rod. Now 
cut in convenient lengths it is passed to the several workmen, 
who, heating it in small furnaces, feed it to the curious little 
machines in front of them, which, eating red-hot iron, drop 
finished nails like the ticking of a watch. 

Leaving Keeseville, our road followed along up the valley 
of the Ausable, through a fertile farming country, that gradu- 
ally gave place to a wilder and more broken district, while the 
river grew rapid and the hills along its shore became rocky 
and precipitous. Clintonville, with its said-to-be largest forge 
on the continent, and decayed, ashy, sooty look, was passed 
as was " Point-of- Rocks," the southern terminus of the Pitts- 
burgh Railroad. At Ausable Forks (which also bore unmis- 
takable signs of being a coal-handling town) we left the regu- 
lar stage route, and climbing to a sandy plateau west of the 
village, picked our way through a forest of stunted pines, 
choosing our road from a multitude that seemed to cover and 
run in every direction across it. Three miles of this sandy 
way through the woods and we came out on the western 
slope, in full view of the towering form of " Old Whiteface," 
and — through Wilmington Notch — the blue of the more dis- 
tant ranges. Then down in the valley we went, and up along 
the rapid Ausable to where we strike the stage road once 
more, having saved over two miles by our cut through the 
woods. Our driver seemed much interested in mill privileges, 
talking dam to his horses a good share of the time ; and when 
we inquired if he was a christian he dodged the question and 
remarked something about a dam in California. Then he 
pointed out the ruins of an old forge and said somebody 
dammed the river there once ; this horrified the Professor, 
but he soon recovered sufficiently to intimate that it didn't 
look worth a dam to him, and thought that if it was true it was 
dammed bad. 



Wilmington. 



55 



At last we entered the little hamlet of Wilmington and drew 
up in front of the hotel — not a very elegant affair, to be sure, 
but we felt at home as soon as we caught sight of the big, 
honest, square-looking fellow with his pants in his boots and 
fun in his clear blue eye, who came out to meet us. We in- 
quired if he was landlord. 

" Well, I don't know," said he, with a glance down at his 
working clothes ; " it's been so long since we had any com- 
pany that it don't pay to keep a landlord." Then he con- 
tinued sadly : "The season's about over, I guess, for you're 
the first travelers we've seen in a week." Then he took us 
inside, built up a rousing fire, and in a short time gave us a 
dinner that could not fail to satisfy the most fastidious. 

The Whiteface Mountain House is a comfortable looking 
two story building, with a double piazza running along the 
front and side toward the mountain from whence it derives its 
name, and has accommodations for about fifty guests. It is 
on the east side of the Ausable river, which is here quite nar- 
row. On the west the land slopes upward for a short distance 
then rises rapidly, sweeping away with but one or two breaks 
to the summit of "Old Whiteface." 

Wilmington, aside from the hotel, has a deserted, worn-out 
sort of look, and while it appears to possess a little of every 
thing it seems as though nothing ever came to a head. 
Two or three shut-up-looking stores, three shut-up-looking 
churches — Methodist, Presbyterian and Lutheran — a few 
scattering houses, an old forge, saw, starch and grist mills, all 
having a decidedly dead appearance. The place was owned 
a long time ago by one Major Sanford, who came here, built 
two or three stills, and went to making whisky. " Those were 
the times when it wasn't a sin to make it ; they didn't put in 
as much poison as they do now-a-days," said my informant. 
" Well, he went to making whisky, built mills and that brick 
church and then failed. Then George Weston came here with 
$10,000, cut a road to the top of the mountain and built a little 
house up there ; but he soon lost all his money and sold out 
to Sidney Weston of Winooskie, Vermont, who is smart as 
lightning and will make it pay if any living man can." 




SUMMIT OF WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN. 



CHAPTER V. 



OLD WHITEFACE. 

UT off from its kindred on the south by- 
Wilmington Notch, and on the north by- 
one almost as deep, pyramidal in form, 
although somewhat the longest north and 
south, its base clothed in inky spruce and 
balsams, its naked granite head among the 
clouds " Old Whiteface " stands one of 
the finest mountain peaks in the Adiron- 
dacks. 

" I'll tell you what I'll do," said our warm- 
hearted landlord at night as we sat discuss- 
ing pro and con the ascent of "Old White- 
face," " if you will stay over I will take you 
two miles up the mountain — as far as we can conveniently 
get with a wagon— and send a guide to the top with you, for 




Old Whiteface. 57 

it's the grandest mountain view to be had in the Adirondacks, 
and I don't want you to go away without seeing it." Of 
course we accepted, only insisting that he go with us. So at 
nine in the morning, with the thermometer at 48, we set out 
up the mountains ; we left the wagon which returned to the 
hotel, with instructions to meet us at sunset, and proceeded 
up the bridle path toward the summit, traveling about a mile 
westerly then turning toward the south, entered the standing 
timber and began the ascent in earnest. 

At the end of a half hour we had gone another mile and came 
out on an open space called " Lookout Point," half way to 
the summit. Here the blueberries grew thick, and we scraped 
whole handfuls from the bushes and ate them — in ten minutes 
gathering all we cared for. Then we resumed our course and 
pressed upward through the dark woods, scrambling up the 
steep path where great rocks alternated with pools of black 
muck in a semi-liquid state, troddeh and mixed by horses' feet, 
and we wondered that horses could climb such places with a 
hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds of humanity on their 
back : but Baldwin said to his knowledge not an accident 
further than being lost for a night, ever happened on the 
mountain. We reached the shanty, three-fourths of a mile 
from the summit, a little past noon, and here occurred a des- 
perate encounter between three men on the one side and six 
slices of bread and butter, supported by other fixtures, on the 
other, which resulted in their total defeat and destruction. 

The shanty is in a small clearing, at the highest point where 
wood and water can be obtained, has log sides, with a roof, 
part canvass, part bark. Within is a parlor and cook stove ; 
along one side, raised a little above the floor, a platform that 
looked as though it might do service as Brigham Young's 
family bedstead, was covered with spruce and hemlock 
branches, and blankets. A sort of cross between a stairway 
and ladder led up to the ladies' dormitory under the sharp 
roof, through which the stars could peep in places. Here, in 
the bed which was over nearly the entire floor, "permiscus 
like," we could discover signs of the tender feeling with which 
the fair sex was regarded — in the springy moss and fine leaves 
which had been stripped from the hemlock branches, on which 



58 



The Adirondacks. 



the lords of creation slept down below. The pipe from the 
stove in the lower room, where a fire can be kept roaring all 
night, passed up through this one, and altogether it was a 
cosy, jolly, fun-provoking place to be in, where, as our guide 
remarked, " if there was any fun in a fellow it was going to 
show itself." We, in imitation of others before us who had 
written their names in every conceivable and reachable place 
in the building, registered and proceeded on our way to the 
summit. 




" Pretty rough work," said Baldwin, " but hundreds of people 
come up every year and ride clear to the top. A big doctor 
came here from Buffalo with his family and a four-horse team 
that he had been all over the country with — a very valuable 
team, too, — and when he said he was going to the top of the 
mountain with them I tried to stop him, and I offered to get 
horses that were accustomed to the road for nothing, rather 
than have him hurt his, but no ; ' other horses have been 
there, have they not ? ' said he, and when I told him yes, he 
said* ' then mine can go ; ' so he took them out of the 
harness and put his wife, a woman that would weigh two 
hundred, on the firiest one of the lot and started, and I felt 
bad for I knew something would happen, and they rode those 

horses to the very top and just turned around and " . We 

gazed down over the fearful precipice at our feet while oui 
hearts seemed to cease their motion as he slowly concluded — 
" and rode down again without getting a scratch ! ' 



Old Whiteface. 59 

" But how can ladies manage to keep on the horses' backs, 
where it seems almost impossible for the horse to get along 
alone ? " 

"Manage!" said he, "like a man, of course, astride, and it 
makes me laugh to see them sometimes when they find that 
they've got to go in that way. So modest when they start, 
some of them, that they are dreadfully afraid of showing their 
feet, but they soon get over that and come down with colors 
flying. I don't know as they would ever have done it if 
Mrs. Murray, wife of the Rev. Adirondack Murray, hadn't set 
the fashion herself. She's a dashing, independent sort of 
woman, who don't let thoughts of what people may say inter- 
fere with her plans. Well, after Mrs. Murray set the example, 
we had no difficulty, and now lots of them go up in that way; 
as, with the horses we have and a guide at their sides, there 
is not the slightest danger in making the ascent." The regu- 
lar price for a horse and guide is six dollars, or four dollars for 
the horse alone ; but unless a lady is perfectly at home in the 
saddle, she will be apt to wish she was "at home " in reality. 
It is needless to add that- the Turkish costume is considered 
the most appropriate for this style of amusement. 

All the way up we had noticed fresh tracks made by three 
several persons — one, a man's, which also appeared to have 
descended, and two evidently made by ladies — one short and 
thick, the other slender and dainty in its manner of touching 
the ground. It had been a matter of wonderment to us, and 
" Little Foot-prints," as we styled the owner of the dainty 
stepping foot, was a constantly recurring subject of specula- 
tion. "Where is Little Foot-prints? who is she? is she 
pretty? — of course. And the other — why are they appar- 
ently alone, when the Big Foot has gone back ? " questions 
that we hoped soon to solve ; questions that preyed upon the 
Professor, as the oft-twirled moustache and passage of his 
fingers through his auburn locks would seem to indicate. Of 
course it was nothing to me, and only out of mere curiosity 
that I managed to reach the top first, but " where was Little 
Foot-prints ? " Not there, certainly, for the summit, the sides 
and the backbone of the mountain up over which we had 
passed were primeval, unyielding rock. They had not re- 



60 The Adirond.\cks. 

turned by the path ; they might have plunged down the sides 
in some other direction, but the feeling took possession of us 
that our "Little Foot-prints " had taken wings and flown up 
among the angels, just a little higher than where we stood. 

How can I describe it — the wonderful beauty of the day, 
the clear, crisp atmosphere surrounding us — the great pur- 
ple-rimmed basin, in the center of which, lifted up on a pin- 
nacle, we stood, while the mighty, sweeping dome of heaven 
came down all around and blended with the mountain edges. 
A keen, wintry blast sweeping past, penetrating even through 
the heavy blankets that we had brought from the house below ; 
the bits of ground frozen nearly as hard as the rock on which 
they rested ; every stunted bush and blade of coarse grass 
which clung to the wind-swept summit gleaming with frost 
needles and sparkling like spun glass in the bright sunshine ; 
while below, the country lay spread out in the glory of its 
autumnal dress, its gold and crimson, brown and green, its 
pearly lakes and threads of silver, its purple hills and mellow 
distance, over which lay a mantle of tender blue haze, seen 
only in autumn — not smoke — but Something that suggests 
the thought of the myriad millions of pale, sweet ghosts of 
falling leaves and dying flowers. Back toward the north ran 
the sharp ridge up which we had toiled, naked and dark for a 
quarter of a mile, then a stunted growth of balsams gnarled 
and twisted ; a few live branches low down at the surface, the 
tops dead and dry; then, as we look further the spruce and 
cedar grow dark and thick down to the belts of birches and 
maples below. Away off to the east is Lake Champlain, lost 
in the mist toward the north, shut in by the Green Mountains, 
and beyond, the white hills of old New England. To the 
south lay the great peaks of the Adirondacks. " Haystack,' 
" Marcy " — the cloud-piercer of the Indians, '' Colden," with 
the white track of the avalanche down its side, and others — 
a long line of giants, their dark blue crests rising like ocean 
billows — grand and changeless in their mighty forms, over- 
whelming in their sublimity. 

Away toward the west a lower set of mountain waves are 
seen, over a comparatively level tract of country cut and out- 
lined with a confused network of ponds and streams, with 



Old Whiteface. 6i 

here and there a broad, shining sheet of water ; Lake Placid 
at our feet, the Saranacs and Big Tupper's farther away, and a 
host of others, too numerous to mention, while over the pur- 
ple rocky rim of the mountains to the north stretched the 
faint blue of the level Canadas, through which was the silvery 
gleam of the mighty St. Lawrence. 

Turning once more toward the grand Indian pass we see 
the fields of North Elba, and — a mere speck — the home and 
resting-place of old John Brown. From the pass above, the 
Ausable rises and comes toward us ; here and there we catch 
glimpses of it, a mere thread, through Wilmington Notch, 
under the great wall, through the natural flume at our feet, 
past the little village and away to Keeseville beyond which it 
plunges down over the rocks at Birmingham, and finds its 
way out through the dark chasm to Lake Champlain. 

Seventy years ago an avalanche of loose stones and the 
gathered moss and vegetable deposit of ages went down the 
western slope of this mountain and the exposed surface, 
whiter than the rest, is said to have given it the name ; but 
there is a more reasonable theory, as the line can hardly be 
noticed unless covered with snow, that the old giant's naked 
brow, for so long a period covered with snow, suggested the 
name of " Old Whiteface." On the topmost point, firmly at- 
tached to the rock, we found the card of the chief of the Adi- 
rondack Survey, a metallic disk with this inscription : " White- 
face Mountain, Station No. 2. Verplanck Colvin, S. N. Y. 
Adirondack Survey, 1872." All around, the surface of the 
rock was scarred and chiseled with the names of former visit- 
ors while on one, cut deep and clear, were the words, 

"Thanks be to God for the mountains!" 

and every heart joined with that grand old mountain peak in 
saying, " thanks be to God for the mountains." A great, dark, 
litchen-covered, chaotic mass of broken rock forms the sum- 
mit ; to the north and south the ascent is gradual, but on 
either side it is almost perpendicular for many feet, then curves 
outward and is covered by the dark evergreens. We gazed 
down from the dizzy height, 

11 We heard the troubled flow 
Of the dark olive depths of pines, resounding 
A thousand feet below." 

6 



62 The Adirondacks. 

We marked our homeward course through the glistening 
lakes, away around the blue serrated summit of Mount Sew- 
ard, then started on our descent. A sudden exclamation from 
our guide brought us to his side, where he was inspecting 
what we took to be the track of a naked foot. 

" What is it ? " 

" A bar — been here since we went up — going down, proba- 
bly, to the blueberry patch. We may see him if we go careful." 

And carefully we went, following the track along out to the 
blueberry patch, and there we lost it. We waited, watched 
and ate berries until the shadow of the mountain like a great 
pyramid reached out and touched the little village ; then we 
started. 

"Maybe you'd better lead," said Baldwin, making a desper- 
ate effort to keep his feet from getting the advantage of him, 
while an ax, tin pail and sundry other articles jingled and 
thumped about on every side. " It bothers me to have folks 
treading on my heels." So lead we did — the result of which 
may be inferred from a remark he. was overheard to make that 
night, to the effect that it beat somethin-or-other how them 
fellows came down that mountain, "and," said he, "when I'd 
get some ways behind I'd drop into a dog trot to catch up, 
then I'd hear that little fellow snicker and the long-legged 
one would cover six feet at a step." 




w 

H 

O 

o 

►J 



CHAPTER VI. 



a 



ON THE ROAD. 



"John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave, 
And his soul goes marching on." — Old Song. 

HE morning following our ascent of Old White- 
face, he had draped his shoulders in a mantle 
of mist, modestly hiding his face in the clouds, 
and although the sun came out toward noon 
and the clouds went scurrying across the sky 
like a routed army before the advance of an 
enemy, a legion still hung around his iron 
head, skulked in the rents and hollows of his 
furrowed side and crowded close under the 
lee of his protecting form. It was interesting 
to watch this vast host — this white-robed 
army of the sky — seeming almost human in 
its maneuverings to gain a place of safety 
from the fierce west winds which tore it into fragments and 
strung it out into shreds, and rolled it up into great balls to 
be dashed against the mountain, and separating, pass on either 
side to wheel into line beyond, or entering the surface current 
mount up the steep, and shooting out over the sharp crest, 
curl downward into the billowy mass below, where it clung 
like some tattered signal of distress, its ragged, wind-whipped 
end stretching away out toward the east. 

After dinner we took a carriage, sandwitched the driver be- 
tween us, and started for North Elba. Att. Clyne was the 
driver's name, a pleasant young fellow, who had rather hear 
or tell a good story than to eat, and that is saying a good deal 
for him. He inaugurated a series by telling of the wonderful 
speed of the particular beast behind which we were riding, 
the truth of which he would demonstrate when we arrived at 




64 The Adirondacks. 

a suitable piece of road. We never came to that suitable 
piece. Once we thought we had, and he encouraged her a 
little with the whip. She felt encouraged for about ten feet, 
and then rested while we got out and strapped a couple of 
pieces of whiffletree together which we had discovered dang- 
ling at her feet ; then we went ahead carefully. About two 
miles south of Wilmington is the natural flume, a long furrow 
through the rock like the track of a giant plowshare, through 
which the water shoots like a flash of light. Some call it a 
wonder ; but, with the fellow at Niagara, we might say " it 
would be a greater wonder if the water didn't come down, it 
comes so easy." Our road still led up along the river, now 
flashing out broad in the sunlight as it rippled over the stones, 
now quiet, and then plunging over the " big falls " seeming to 
lose itself in the cavernous depths below. 

Wilmington Pass is the natural gateway to North Elba 
from the north, a notch cut out of the mountain, through 
which the west branch of the Ausable flows, it is one of the 
finest, if not the finest, combination of river, rock and moun- 
tain scenery to be found in the Adirondacks, and was especi- 
ally beautiful in its autumn dress, as we saw it on that early 
October day. The road ran along up by the river, fringed and 
canopied by the crimson and yellow maples, the great, ragged, 
rough-armed birches, the cone-shaped balsam, the dainty- 
limbed tamarack and scarlet-berried mountain ash. The pass 
seems to have been caused by some mighty power that turn- 
ing neither Ko the right nor left, struck this mountain range 
and passed through and onward, carrying every thing before 
it out on the plain beyond, leaving the broken walls on either 
side to frown down on the torn rocks below, and, when the 
tempest raged, to thunder back defiance at each other. Then 
time covered the rocks with mosses, the floods brought 
rich offerings and dropped them in the bottom-land, trees 
sprang up and others found lodgment in the cleft rocks, and 
now all is covered with nature's mantle. No, not all, for at 
our left, the naked rock rises up, straight up, fully five hun- 
dred feet, at places even projecting beyond its base and seem- 
ing ready to fall as great masses have already fallen, through 
and around which the road goes, at times with barely suffici- 



"On the Road." 



65 



ent room to pass between them and the narrow, swift-running 
river on the other side. Across the river at our right is a 
narrow fringe of bottom-land trees, then rising, precipice 
above precipice, and cliff on cliff, is Old Whiteface, his feet 

washed by the river, his head still among the clouds, and . 

There stands that fast beast out to the full extent of the reins, 
with the pieces of broken whiffletree on either side. 

"Gr — ROOP ! " The sound was richly musical and unmis- 
takably African for " get-up." We were resting, if you please, 
three of us in a buggy, right in the middle of the road, the 
Professor and I rapturously enjoying the lovely scenery and 
innocently talking about subjects entirely foreign to the situ- 
ation, while "Att." sat squeezed in between us, holding on to 
one end of the reins and using some very choice language in 
regard to the mare who stood out at the other, looking around 
occasionally to see why some one didn't make a move to get 
her back where she belonged. 

" Gr-roop ! " Letters cannot express the sound. The 
nearest approach to it is when some sea-sick mortal rushes to 
the vessel's side and vainly attempts to give up his own din- 
ner to the fishes. We got out and tied the traces back to the 
cross-bar, put the broken whiffletree in the wagon and sent 
"Att." forward to make repairs. 

" Gr-roop ! " whack ! a pair 
of sorry-looking objects ap- 
peared over the brow of a 
little knoll behind us, rising 
slowly as rises the stately 
ship above the watery hori- 
zon, first two pairs of hairy 
ears, then a pair of venera- 
ble heads swaying from side 
to side, then their entire 
forms loomed above the 
sandy horizon, and we looked 
up through a swaying thicket 




GR — ROOP. 



of legs and straps and wooden bars. 



66 The Adirondacks. 

" Camels, by darn ! " said the Professor excitedly, catching 
sight of what appeared to be the hump peculiar to the "ship 
of the desert." 

No, not camels, Professor, but ancient specimens of horse 
architecture ; style, gothic, with a tendency toward many 
gables, and that which you think the hump is a French roof 
of buffalo skin to protect them, or the harness, or both, from 
the rain. Framed in nature's noblest mold those beasts un- 
doubtedly were ; but the party who supplied the flesh was 
apparently short of material, or else they were clothed in 
their summer suit. Their harness fenced them in and bound 
them round about suggesting suspicion of a latent fire within 
that might, if aroused, burst forth and rend straps of an 
ordinary width, as the lightning shivers the mighty oak. — 
Straps ? they crossed and covered those noble animals until 
they looked like a railroad map of Massachusetts, and at 
every crossing was a big patch of buffalo skin. They looked 
kindly at us, with eyes out of which all coltish frivolity had 
long since flown. Then the expression seemed to change to 
one of mild surprise as the wagon gently pressed against them 
and they found it easier to trot down the hill than to hold 
back. As they forged up alongside they stopped. They had 
evidently been driven by a sewing machine agent or some 
candidate for office, and thought they must stop for every 
man they saw. We instantty propounded the following co- 
nundrum to the driver: 

"Why can't we ride in that extra seat ? " 

He gave it up at once and we got aboard the buckboard. 
"Gr-roop ! " whack! we were under way. The driver was a 
good-looking fellow, intelligent, well-informed, and decidedly 
attractive in his way, even if his skin was a few shades darker 
than regulation and his hair unexplorable in its kinkiness. 
We inquired his destination and he told us North Elba. As 
St. Helena suggests the first Napoleon, so North Elba brings 
with it the picture of an old man with white hair and flowing 
white beard, crazy some said, but with wonderful method in 
his madness ; a carpet-bagger in Kansas, where he took an 
active part in the troubles which in 1856 assumed the formid- 
able proportions of a civil war ; the " Old man of Osawato- 



John Brown. 



6 7 



mie," whose presence was marked by dissensions and blood- 
shed ; who urged men on to murder in the name of freedom 

and read his Bible all the 
time- who in 1859, with a 
mere handful of men, 
struck the first hard blow 
at the institution of slavery 
in the South, and which, 
probably, more than the 
eloquence of all the Phil- 
lips and Sumners in the 
world, tended to precipi- 
tate the war by which, 
through rivers of blood, 
four million slaves went 
free. He was called "a 
visionary," "an old fool," 
but men who have given 
the subject study say that 
it was the best organized 
conspiracy that ever failed, 

c/^ryiy 0?j^umy> reachin s out as lt did over 

the entire Southern States. 
The blow struck at Harper's Ferry was to be the signal for a 
general uprising of the blacks, but he misjudged his men 
and — failed. 

A fanatic he undoubtedly was. He seemed to feel that 
he was specially called not only to free but to educate the 
blacks. He secured a large tract of land here at North 
Elba to demonstrate his theory, and had established quite a 
colony. Then feeling that the time had come, he, with three 
sons, a son-in-law and a few others who had become converted 
to his belief— twenty-two in all — played at Harper's Ferry — 
and lost. They were soon surrounded, and the negroes, to 
whom they trusted so much, let them fight it out alone. One 
son escaped, another was shot dead, and still another lay 
dying by his side, while the old man fought on ; and at last, 
when overpowered and compelled to surrender, he locked the 
secrets he possessed in his breast that his friends might not 




68 The Adirondack^. 

suffer, and died as he had lived, firm in the faith that in some 
manner he was the divinely appointed agent who was to lead 
his children out of the land of bondage. He murmured not 
against the people for whom he suffered, who had deserted 
him in his direst need, but stopped to kiss a little negro baby- 
on his way to the scaffold, seeming to show by the act, how 
willingly he laid down his life for them and the cause he had 
espoused. 

Then the body of old John Brown, the convicted murderer 
— this felon with the mark of the hangman's rope on his 
neck — was taken down from the gallows and borne through 
the country whose laws he had transgressed, while bells tolled 
and cities were draped in mourning for his sake, to his old 
home among the mountains — For he had said : " When I die, 
bury me by the big rock where I love to sit and read the word 
of God," and there, one terribly cold day in bleak December, 
a few who had loved the old man, laid his body and covered 
it up in the frozen ground, 

"And his soul goes marching on." 

Yes, the spirit of old John Brown goes marching on, and 
with it, keeping time to the music of the old song, whole 
armies marched to battle, and with the victory came that for 
which the old man worked and died. 

"Gr-roop ! " whack! Back to the reality of a darkey belab- 
oring a pair of absent-minded and almost absent-bodied 
horses, and they supremely unconscious of the fact. We ven- 
tured to inquire if our driver was one of John Brown's pet 
lambs, and he with, as Mrs. Partington would say, considerable 
"asparagrass," gave us to understand that he was not. 

" He established a colony of blacks up here, didn't he? " - 

" Yes, sah, but they ain't heah now. We are the only family 
of colo'd folks in town." 

" Where are they now ? " 

"All gone." "Gr-roop!" whack! "See dat hoss — Gone; 
nobody knows where." 

" How many were there of them ? " 

" Mebbe fifteen or twenty families — don't know; didn't 
think much of 'em." 



"On the Road/' 69 

" Slaves, I suppose, that the old man had run in here from 
the South?" 

" No, sah, not one. G'lang ! " 

" Where did he get them ? " 

"Oh, from New York, mostly, I guess — not much account- 
Niggers. Gr-roop ! what you 'bout? " 

" He was generally considered a fanatic, wasn't he ? " 

"Sah?" 

"You thought him a monomaniac? " 

"A — yes, sah. Gz-long, thah." 

" You say they are all gone ; what has become of them ? ' 

"Don't know; they couldn't make a livin' heah ; too cold 
for 'em ; wa'nt much used to work, I guess, an' couldn't stan' 
the kind they got heah. Most of 'em was barbers an' sich, 
who thought they wouldn't have nothing to do when they 
come heah, an' after the old man died they couldn't get along, 
so they dug out, some of 'em, an' some of 'em died, an' one 
ole niggah froze to death." 

" How was that?"" 

" Well, he went out huntin' one day in winter and got lost 
in the woods. He had a compass with him, but when they 
found him they found where he had sat down on a log and 
picked his compass to pieces, and then sot there till he froze to 
death." 

It is a well-known fact that some unused to the woods will 
become so effectually " turned around " that they will be cer- 
tain that something is the matter with the compass to make 
it point wrong, and even distrust the sun itself if it happens 
to be in a different position from that which they think it 
ought to be. 

" Dem hosses gettin' kinder tired," remarked their master ; 
" don't get along over this road very fast." 

We accepted the information with polite incredulity, as is 
becoming in those to whom an unnoticed fact is first made 
apparent. 

" Been on the road a whole week — " 

" Getting from the Forks?" we innocently inquired. 

" Oh, no, sah ; it's only fifteen miles to 'Sable Forks. I've 



70 The Adirondacks. 

been carryin' a young lady 'round to see the country, drivin' 
them hosses steady for a week — " 

"Without feeding? Well, now, I don't wonder they — " 

" No, 7io, sah ; I feed 'em reg'lar, only they run out all sum- 
mer an' I haven't got the hard feed in 'em yet. They ain't 
very fat just now, but they's good hosses for all that." 

Then he whipped up lively for two or three rods past a 
shanty, where we saw Att. busily engaged on what he was 
pleased to call a whiffletree, to take the place of the broken 
one. Then we bade good-bye to our sable friend and sat 
down by the river-side to make a sketch of the scene. Feeble 
and unsatisfactory, perhaps, but a shadow, at least a sugges- 
tion, of foaming, sparkling sun-bright water, dancing along 
among the stones ; great, shaggy, yellow birches, golden 
beeches, crimson maples and tangled depths of dark green, 
while through openings in the trees, the gray cliff showed 
grand and strong, appearing even greater than itself through 
the tender blue of the luminous haze that intervened. Then 
we all got in behind the fast horse and continued on our way. 
Up along the river, through a dark, level tract, almost a swamp, 
where the balsams grew thick and the trailing moss hung in 
masses from their branches, out into the open country, where 
we saw pleasant homes, well tilled fields, and the river wind- 
ing smoothly through the fertile meadows of North Elba. 

After a while we came to a place where the houses were a 
little nearer together than anywhere else along the road, so 
we called that North Elba ; but the population is rather thin 
at the best, and the country to a great extent devoted to 
grazing and grass growing. Winter up there seems to be the 
chief season and never disappoints them in coming, and it is 
seldom that a year passes when snow is not seen on the moun- 
tains near by every month excepting August. It is said to be 
very healthy, so much so that the only manner of taking off 
is a habit they have of freezing to death, and when this hap- 
pens, as is often the case, in summer they do not find it nec- 
essary to bury them, but (if Att. is to be believed) simply lay 
them away somewhere exposed to the pure balsamic air and 
in the course of six or seven weeks they moss over. John 
Brown was only covered up as a protection against curiosity 



North Elba. 



7i 



hunters, who have a habit of chopping off pieces of fossils 
and the like, and who have broken off pieces of his tombstone 
to such an extent that it had to be boxed up to keep enough 
for directory purposes. 

Here at North Elba we strike the post-road, running in a 
north-westerly direction from Elizabethtown to the Saranac 
lakes. Turning to the right we proceeded about a mile until 
at the entrance to a lane, which led off toward the south, we 
saw a sign bearing the inscription, " John brown Farm, Re- 
freshments if desired " (at least that is what we made it out to 
be), together with an index finger, which was probably painted 
by some admirer of the old man's to indicate his present home, 
which direction, if followed, would take the traveler several 
degrees higher than we could hope to get in the Adirondacks, 
so we took the middle course — the lane — through a strip of 
woods, into the open field, and with the dusk of a solemn twi- 
light settling down over us, stood by the great rock that he 
loved so well and by the side of which, at his own requst, he 
was buried. The farm is shut in on all sides by the thick 

forests which, on the south, stretch 
1 away in unbroken solitude to Indian 




ipjl S= Pass and the great peaks of the Adi- 

rondacks. It has been purchased by 
g a company at whose head as prime 
^E^ mover stands Kate Field, and now 
=H held as a sort of public park which 
is annually visited by hundreds who, 
from curiosity or reverence for the 
old saint, make pilgrimages to their 
Mecca of fanaticism. The house and 
outbuildings stand in the open field ; 
near by is the " big rock " and grave, 
surrounded by a rough board fence. 
As we entered the inclosure a lit- 
tle girl came out to remove the box 
from the headstone, which it was 
found necessary to cover to pre- 
serve from the destroying hand of 
the relic-hunter. Unlocking and 




72 The Adirondacks. 

removing the box we saw an old fashioned, time-stained, 
granite-like stone, the corners chipped and broken off, and 
defaced so that in places some of the inscription was entirely 
gone. The upper half was in the quaint characters of "ye 
olden time," the lower half of a recent date ; the face bore the 
following inscription : 

" In memory of Capt in John Brow Who Died At Newyork 
Sept r Ye 3 1^76 in the 42 year of his Age. 

"John Brown Born May 9 1800 was executed at Charleston, 
Va, Dec. 2. 1859. 

"Oliver Brown Born Mar. 9, 1839, was Killed at Harpers 
Ferry Oct. 17. 1859." 

On the back was the following: 

"In memory of Frederick son of John and Dianth Brown, 
Born Dec 21. 1830 and murdered at Osawatomie, Kansas, Aug 
30. 1856 for his adherence to the cause of Freedom." 

" Watson Brown, Born Oct 7, 1835 was wounded at Harpers 
Ferry & died Oct. 19, 1859." 

The grave was strewn with faded flowers ; a florist's leaden 
cross and crown filled with the same lay on the little mound, 
and under it the body of Old John Brown, alone ! of his large 
family not one remaining to watch over him, but in their place 
strangers, who knew less of the old man than we who lived 
far away. His widow, and five children out of his twenty, are 
still living, it is said, scattered over the West, some of them 
in California, some nearer. 

The stone which marks the head of his grave was brought 
from Massachusetts and placed where it now stands, and we 
were told that the " Capin " John Brown, whose name heads 
the list, was his father, in which case (if the Captain was his 
father) he must have been born an orphan, as this one died 
something over twenty-three years before young John was 
born. In fact there must be some mistake about it somewhere, 
as even after careful investigation there we could not find out 
that he ever had a father, and we would respectfully suggest 
that it receive the attention of the geneological authors, who, 
for the paltry sum of a hundred dollars, will trace any man's 



" Business." 73 

pedigree back in an unbroken line to dukes and earls, or 
better even for an additional inducement. We passed up over 
the big rock bearing the inscription, cut in large letters, 
"John Brown, 1859," and to the house to learn something 
more concerning it. 

" Don't you want to stay all night ? " said the little girl, with 
an eye to business. 

I glanced at the grave, the cold rock and the dreary, dark- 
ening fields around, and said "No." Then a boy member of 
the family cornered Att., and eloquently held up to him the 
advantages of seeing the " stun " by daylight ; but Att. couldn't 
see it. Then the loquacious lady of the house met the Profes- 
sor at the door with the continuation of what the boy and girl 
had started, but the Professor being a modest man threw the 
responsibility on me, and, alas ! all /wanted was information. 

" We can accommodate }rou if you want to stay," said she, 
bringing the register. 

We said no again, counted, and found that over four hundred 
besides ourselves had registered during the summer. 

" Got as good rooms as anybody, and every body who has 
stopped here has been satisfied," continued she insinuatingly. 

"Almost everybody buy these," said the little girl, produc- 
ing a pair of stereographs of the grave and rock ; " fifty cents 
for the two." 

We meekly produced the plaster and inquired if they owned 
the place. 

" No," said the mother, " we've only been here a little while, 
but take in strangers who want to stay all night and — " 

" This is the house old John Brown used to occupy, isn't it ? ' 

" Yes, but we've fitted it up new some since, and now you 
can't find any better rooms — " 

" What has become of the widow and children ? " 

"I don't know just where, but out West somewhere, I be- 
lieve. We just take care of it and keep folks who — " 

" It seems to be all forests to the south ; is there a path 
leading from here to the Indian Pass ? " 

"Yes, parties often, come through it and stop over night or 
get something to eat ; and I don't like to say it myself, but 
they always seem satisfied with our fare. Now — " 

7 



74 The Adirondack^. 

" I am gathering information for a book on the Adirondack^, 
which is my reason for asking so many questions. Now ii 
you have any interesting information concerning this locality 
I will be—" 

"Well, now, I think if people knew that we were prepared 
to keep folks and was always prepared to get up meals, with 
game and trout always on hand, they would come more ; and 
if you will just state — " 

"All right; good evening, madam." 

" We should like to — folks say they were just as well kept 
as at a hotel — might just mention trout — game dinners — veni- 
son nearly all the time — barn room — people — haven't — found 
— it — out — much — yet — it's — getting purty — dark — hadn't — 
you — better — stay. And as we passed out of hearing the 
thought would come that if the old man could sleep there un- 
moved for a term of years, the angel Gabriel would have to 
be in pretty good lip to start him at the end of that time. 

We had aimed to stay at Lake Placid on the night of our 
visit to the grave of John Brown, but when we reached the 
main road, decided to stop at the North Elba Hotel ; so. boldly 
advancing we stirred up the old Lyon and ordered supper. 

Lyon's Hotel is a very pretty little two-story house, with 
wings extending out from the main part, and will accommo- 
date about 25 guests. It is situated on the post road, between 
Elizabethtown and Saranac Lake, 25 miles from the former — 
10 from the latter, and two miles from Lake Placid, with good 
brook fishing near by. Mr. Lyon is one of those sturdy 
farmer-looking men who, besides being postmaster, justice 
of the peace and nobody knows what all, is considered to 
have a sort of fatherly interest in every thing going on in the 
neighborhood. The literature displayed was of the most solid 
character: History, a Gazetteer, Congressional Proceedings, 
''with the compliments" of the law-makers, etc., but we felt 
more like devouring the supper, which was like the literary 
food — substantial — afterward, we disappeared for the night. 
See page 169. 



CHAPTER VII. 




Lake Placid. 

^N the morning we started for Lake Placid. 
Retracing our course of the night before for a 
few rods we turned toward the north, and pass- 
ing through a piece of woods nearly a mile in 
extent came out upon the shores of Mirror 
Lake. 

Mirror Lake is a pretty sheet of water 
about one mile in length by half that in width, 
and was known as " Bennett's Pond " until an 
enthusiastic young lady composed a lot of 
poetical stuff concerning it and gave it its pres- 
ent euphonious name. (There ! that word has 
worried me. I have been trying for some time 
and am thankful that I have disposed of it at last very nicely. 
My attention was attracted to it at first by noticing that every 
one who wrote about Lake George worked in "euphonious" 
in some way or other. I have more in reserve which I intend 
to precipitate on the reader at some future time.) 

Nash's, near the north end of Mirror Lake, is well known 
and liked by sportsmen — will accommodate about 25; J. 
V. Nash, the proprietor, is the oldest settler in that 
neighborhood ; an experienced guide, although he does not 
practice it of late unless for particular friends, and an enthu- 
siastic sportsman withal. (For particulars, see page 169.) 

The Lake Placid House, a little beyond Nash's, usually 
spoken of as " Brewster's," is a large comfortable looking 
house with broad piazza on two sides, standing on the ridge 
that separates Mirror Lake from Lake Placid but a few 
rods distant, and is deservedly a popular resort ; its proprietor, 
Mr. Brewster, impressed me as a man who would conscien- 
tiously do all in his power for the comfort of his guests. The 



76 The Adirondacks. 

house is new, rooms large, comfortably furnished, and the 
table good. 

Lake Placid is called by some the gem of the Adirondacks ; 
but while it possesses many attractions, there are probably 
others equally fine. It is about five miles long and two broad, 
measured through the islands, of which there are three, and 
which are so large that the lake resembles a large river sweep- 
ing around them rather than a lake with islands. 

Since leaving Wilmington we had passed south nearly half 
way round Whiteface Mountain, and looked to it from the 
south-west to where it seemed to rise directly up out of the 
lake, although in fact removed nearly two miles. A small 
pond near by attracts some attention, having the name of 
" Paradox Pond." It is connected with Lake Placid, by its 
outlet, which is also its inlet, being each in turn, and through 
which it is said its waters ebb and flow like the ceaseless 
motion of the tide. 

Both Nash and Brewster have made extensive preparations 
for the accommodation of visitors, supplying guides, horses, 
boats, and everything necessary for the use of the sportsman. 
They have a number of those long Adirondack boats, perfect 
models of beauty, and so light that a man will walk off with 
one on his shoulders in away that looks easy enough, although 
a person unused to it will probably think, before he has car- 
ried it any great distance, that it is equal to a good-sized 
steamboat. 

After dinner, we succeeded in removing Att. from the pres- 
ence of a fascinating divinity in calico, and started for Sar- 
anac Lake ; then as we neared that place we concluded to push 
on to Paul Smith's, going by way of Bloomingdale. Bloom- 
ingdale has a very pretty name, a very new looking hotel, a 
very few houses, a very good looking frame, which was started 
for a church, and now stands, considerably darkened by time, 
patiently waiting to be roofed and clapboarded. It was late 
in the afternoon when we left Bloomingdale for Paul Smith's, 
and a rain threatening ; but Att. knew the way perfectly be- 
cause he told us so, and it was only seven or eight or nine or 
ten miles there, so we started, and on the way, tried an old 
amusement — that of asking everybody we met the distance 



Att.'s Humor. jj 

to our place of destination, almost invariably getting for reply 
the distance there from the home of the one questioned. 
Thus we continued for some time to meet persons who gave 
us the distance from Bloomingdale, when we had gone at least 
one-third the distance. It was interesting but hardly satisfac- 
tory, especially when night descended and the rain came down 
on our umbrella-less heads, and trickled down our necks and 
settled in the seat beneath us. 

"Here's where we turn," said Att., wheeling around to the 
left. Then he pulled up to inquire the distance of a man at the 
side of the road. 

" 'Bout six miles if you turn round and go t'other way," said 
the man. 

Att. turned around ; he knew the way, of course. Such a 
good joke. A little way further we found that it was four 
miles to Smith's; then an individual reckoned it was about 
seven miles, and then as we failed to meet any one else to 
inquire of, we had to trust in Providence and tell stories the 
rest of the way. The rain pattered down in a contented sort 
of way on the leaves and on the muddy road, and dripped 
from the branches of the trees and our hats and noses, and 
the horse got tired and wanted to walk all the way, and jokes 
wouldn't crack any more on account of the dampness. 

We were thankful that Att. knew all about the way, but he 
was so comical and full of spirits, that he had to give every 
guide-post a critical examination, and the last one that we 
came to at the forks of the road which led out into the dark 
woods, he got out, and hugged and kicked and grunted up to 
the shingle on top, and after sacrificing sundry matches, he, 
with his eyes and fingers and great difficulty, succeeded in 
finding out that he couldn't tell any thing about it, so he slid 
down, and in a drizzly, uncertain sort of way, got in, and we 
started again. Then we recollected the line of telegraph poles 
that ran along by the road and were jubilant, for we knew that 
by following it we would bring up at Paul Smith's. So we 
went by telegraph the rest of the way. 

"This road isn't much traveled," said Att. as we plunged 
down a hill into what looked like a tunnel, through overhang- 
ing trees. 



73 



The Adirondack^. 



" Never mind ; don't you seethe telegraph ? ' We were bound 
to stick to thaj; as our last hope. Then the horse seemed to 
drop out of the harness, the wagon gave a lurch to one side 
and nearly lost its load, brought up and went the other way, 
and after jerking about like a man with two wooden legs try- 
ing to get down a pair of stairs, rested at the bottom of a 
gully which had been dug out by some freshet, and considered 
so bad that they had built a road around rather than repair it- 
Luckily our tired horse had taken the center and thereby kept 
us right side up. Att. was proud of her — " so kind and gentle," 
she was all of that, and more ; for a persevering, go-ahead-and- 
ask-no-question sort of beast, I never saw her equal. If she 
couldn't have stood on her feet she probably would have, slid 
down, or rolled, whichever was the easiest. 

A little way further we saw a dusky strip of water through 
a grove of tall pines, on the shore a large house, from 
which lights gleamed and welcomed us onward, and we were 
soon seated around a crackling fire, with a room full of guides, 
dogs and sportsmen, who smoked and told stories until 
the clock struck twelve, and we went to sleep listening to the 
patter of the raindrops on the roof. 




PAUL SMITHS. 



" Paul Smith's " is a suprise to everbody ; an astonishing 
mixture of fish and fashion, pianos and puppies, Brussels 
carpeting and cowhide boots. Surrounded by a dense forest; 
out of the way of all travel save that which is its own ; near 
the best hunting and fishing grounds (for the matter of that, 



St. Regis Lake. 79 

however, they are all the very best, if the veracious guide 
books are to be relied on) ; a first-class watering-place hotel, 
with all the modern appliances, and a table that is seldom 
equaled in the best of city hotels, set right down in the midst 
of a "howling wilderness." Around the house the timid deer 
roam ; within, they rest. Without, the noble buck crashes 
through the tangled forest ; within, his noble namesake 
straddles elegantly over the billiard tables and talks horse. 
Out on the lake the theoretical veteran casts all manner of 
flies ; in the parlors the contents of huge Saratoga trunks 
are scientifically played, and nets are spread for a different 
kind of fish. Poodles and pointers, hounds, setters, dandies 
and others of the species are found. Feathers and fishing 
rods, point lace and pint bottles, embiyo Nimrods — who 
never knew a more destructive weapon than a yard-stick — 
hung all around with revolvers and game-bags and cartridge- 
pouches and sporting guns that are fearfully and wonderfully 
made, and which would take a first-class engineer to work ; 
for you must know that here danger is to be faced, that even 
the ladies bare arms, and are said at such times to be very 
dangerous sportsmen indeed. 

The St. Regis lake consists of two, the upper and lower. 
The upper lake is about five miles long, the water passing 
through " Spitfire Pond " to the lower lake, and out through 
the St. Regis river to the St. Lawrence. The lower lake is 
about two miles long and one in width, being nearly 2,000 feet 
above tide, on that great level plateau north and west of the 
"great peaks." The surrounding country is rather tame, 
lacking the high mountains which are found further south. 

Paul Smith came here in 1861, built a small house among 
the pines, and commenced keeping sportsmen, in which he 
was very successful, and at present shows a large, three-story 
hotel, with ample accommodations for over one hundred 
guests, besides a large house for the use of guides, and a fine 
set of stables for his own and other horses that may come. 
It is thirty-seven miles to "Point of Rocks," the southern 
terminus of the Plattsburgh railroad, to which place, 
during the season, a daily line of stages are run. The tele- 
graph, which is carried into the house, places its occupants 



80 The Adirondack^. 

within talking distance of the outer world, and speaks well 
for the enterprise of the proprietor. 

In appearance he is not the man you would pick out as the 
one to keep a popular hotel. Rather above medium height, 
usually quiet, not appearing to have much to say about the 
house nor much to do but listen to stories and perform 
other like laborious duties usually expected of the keeper 
of a summer hotel. But somebody there must possess execu- 
tive ability, for all seems to go as smoothly as clock-work, 
and, gazing at the quiet Paul the words of the poet came 
dreamily to me, where he says something about "the still 
sow getting most of the swill." 

The fond parents of the gentleman alluded to, when he was 
a youngster, broke away from the established custom of the 
rather extensive family to which they belonged, and utterly 
refused to name their offspring " John ; " calling him instead, 
u Apolus A. Smith." Apolns is a Scripture name — " Paul may 
plant and Apolus water," etc. Whatever curious bearing the 
name may have had in the matter is unknown ; but he planted 
himself where the water would be handy if he should ever 
need it, and from Apolus his name was soon bobbed down to. 
"Pol," then to "Paul" by those who were disgusted to find 
that ' Pol" was only a man; and now, a letter directed to 
"Apolus A. Smith" would be very liable to be sent to the 
Dead Letter Office by the owner of the name himself. At all 
events, Paul Smith's is a'very popular resort, and patronized 
extensively by a wealthy class of visitors, who prefer to rough 
it in a voluptuous sort of way. 

Although rather late in the season when we were there, a 
few kindred spirits still lingered, who were personally and 
intimately acquainted with everybody, from the Shah and 
Yankee Sullivan down to the Heathen Chinee, and who, when 
night came, would gather around the stove in the office, and 
to an appreciative audience of dogs, guides and themselves, 
would review the drama, the arts and sciences, tell stories of 
fighting men and ministers, dogs and horses, hunting and 
fishing, interspersed with intensely interesting debates on the 
relative merits of plug and fine-cut, and give learned disqui- 
sitions on the proper position of the left auricle at that excit- 



Entertainments. 8i 

ing moment when the fly has been cast, and a gamey two 
ounce trout has struck, and hesitates as to the expediency of 
taking to the woods or the open field. On this much vexed 
question authorities differ, and it is probable that it will always 
be a disputed point, as the physical development and tempera- 
ment of the fish has to be taken into consideration. A fisher- 
man as is a fisherman must be governed by circumstances — 
quick to take advantage of mistakes. In fact he must be a 
strategist of superior calibre, even like unto that of the most 
successful fisherman of whom we have any record, who, after 
the fashion in those primitive days before they used "flies" 
as extensively as at present, swallowed a whale, and after a 
three days' struggle succeeded in bringing him safely to land. 

Sunday morning it rained. On account of the day the 
stories had a subdued sort of spirit in them, and the principal 
business was to get through with three meals and go to bed. 
Monday morning it rained. Got up, dressed, ate breakfast 
and listened to stories ; ate dinner, heard some stories ; had 
supper, after which there were some stories told, interspersed 
here and there with stories, and occasionally a story to give 
zest to the entertainment which consisted principally of 
stories. Then more stories, and after another story or two 
we went to bed with a confused sort of an idea that a swarm 
of green and red and white and black and brown and yellow 
and "scarlet ibes " and "green dragon flies," with lines tied 
to their heads and fish-hooks in their tails, sported playfully 
around our heads, floated enticingly near us, was scientifically 
cast or tantalizingly skittered across the water, tempting us 
to " rise ; " but our eyes were opened to the miserable cheats 
of the anglers who were not repaid by a single "strike," 
while we floated out into deep water and thus ended our 
last day at Paul Smith's. 

We had engaged a guide to go with us from Paul Smith's 
through the Saranacs to Long Lake, but when we opened our 
eyes on the morning of the 7th of October the ground was 
white with snow, and the trip had to be given up. 

" By darn ! " said the Professor, with an air of desperation, 
" I don't want to be snowed in up here in the woods all winter ; 
doesn't a stage leave here for somewhere ? " 



b2 The Adirondacks. 

We found that one would go anywhere for a consideration, 
so we engaged it to take us to Martin's at the north end of 
the lower Saranac, distant about fourteen miles by road and 
thirty by water — the route we had intended to take if the 
weather had been suitable. 

How indescribably lovely the landscape appeared that 
morning. The great flakes danced and whirled and floated, 
crossing back and forth as if in play with each other as they 
fluttered downward through the air, covering every stone 
and tree and shrub, clinging to the delicate tamarac and hem- 
lock, weighing down the sturdy spruce and pines until their 
branches bowed gracefully beneath the load, changing the 
climbing vines into a delicate tracery of white, the long, wavy 
grasses and graceful ferns into frosted silver and the surround- 
ing woods into a grand, pure forest of pearl and milk-white 
glass ; and when we reached the open country new beauties 
came into sight ; the fields, stretching away in their dress of 
white, through which stone and stubble could be seen, soften- 
ing and subduing the foreground, while fainter far away the 
hills rose up until lost in the falling clouds of beautiful snow. 
Soon we became conscious that we had left the main road and 
were on one which required some little attention on our part 
to keep from doing injury to the interior of the stage. It was 
a good road — for a dyspeptic or one troubled with a poor 
appetite ; the ride cost us six dollars, but we got our money's 
worth — there was so much variety to it, the driver was appar- 
ently in something of a hurry ; it was a good stage, too, and we 
being the only occupants we had a choice of position. We 
tried several ; braced ourselves up in the corners ; we rattled 
all around lively like ; we shot from side to side ; made some 
good runs, caromed on each other and pocketed ourselves 
under the seats. We couldn't get knocked out, for the sides 
— excepting a look-out hole — were buttoned down and the 
roof was firm — we were satisfied of that, for we tried it. 
Sometimes the Professor's side would rise up to get over 
a big stone and he would start for me. I had repeatedly 
striven with him and remonstrated against such frequent and 
energetic calls and unceremonious visitations, but to no effect, 
retribution was sure to follow however, when his side went 



Martin's. 



83 



down, for then I would sail majestically over and light on him. 
Sometimes that vehicle would meander playfully over stones 
and stumps and into holes, shucking us all about; then it 
would jump up over a log and we, rising like young eagles, 
would soar away toward the roof. We liked to soar, but 
couldn't light worth a cent. Then it would go down into deep 
holes and stop in such a decided sort of way that we would 
involuntarily feel our heads, expecting to find our backbones 
sticking up through our hats ; and when at last we reached 
Saranac Lake it was with a feeling of "goneness " peculiar 
to those who have been without food for — say nine or ten 
months, or a year for instance. 




MARTIN S. 



"Martin's" is about the same distance from Point-of- 
Rocks as " Paul Smith's," viz. : 37 miles, and is at the regular 
gateway to the Saranac and Tupper's Lake regions. Wm. F. 
Martin, its proprietor, came here in 1849 and built a small 
house for the accommodation of sportsmen, he being among 
the very first to attempt a sporting house in the wilderness. 
He is a thorough woodsman and hunter, and that he knows 
how to keep a hotel is demonstrated by the large business 
worked up at >iis place. The house is on the shore of the 
lake at its northern extremity ; will accommodate 200 ; is well 
furnished throughout, and is very popular, although not quite 
as fashionable as " Paul Smith's," in the high-toned sense of 
the word. 




- — ^^g&v&^s 



SAKANAC LAKE FROM MARTINS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



east 
shin 



The Lower Saranac. 

HE morning after our arrival, we started for 
the upper lake in one of Bartlett's freight 
boats which chanced to be going up at that 
time. It was a lovely morning — a little 
frosty to be sure, but not uncomfortable — 
and the sun came out soon, clear and warm, 
raising delicate wisps of mist from the surface 
of the water and making the snow-laden trees 
glitter with their millions of diamonds, and 
the naked summits of the high mountains — 
Whiteface on the north-east and Marcy, with 
its surrounding peaks, away to the south- 
- reflected in the glassy lake like great mountains of 
ing snow. The lower lake is six miles long, and said to 




The Lower Saranac. 85 

contain 52 islands, one for each week of the year; the shores, 
picturesque ; at times rising in solid rock straight up, at 
others, shelving smoothly out into the deep water. 

At the south-west end of the lake, " in the shadow of a 
great rock," we entered a river fringed with flags and lily- 
pads and tall, dead trees, marking what was once the shores, 
now covered with water — the effect of a dam which was built 
at the outlet of the lake, adding four feet to its original level 
and flooding back up this stream for something over a mile. A 
great many of the lakes and ponds of the wilderness have been 
dammed by the lumbermen and held in reserve for times when 
the volume of water in the beds of the rivers is not sufficient 
to carry the logs along, when the gates are hoisted and the flood 
goes down carrying every thing before it. The result of this 
overflow of the natural boundaries of the lakes has been to 
kill the vegetation on the shores, and the beauty of many of 
them has been seriously impaired by this border of dead and 
dying trees. Something over a mile was passed when we came 
to the falls — but little more than rapids — where the water 
shoots down through a smooth, rocky channel, with a swish 
and a curl or two at the bottom. We stepped ashore, and 
while one held the boat away from the rock the rest pulled it 
up through the cut, then got aboard and picked our way 
slowly up stream. 

The ordinary Adirondack boat is a model of beauty, long 
and narrow, nearly alike at the ends, although above the water- 
line it is widened out somewhat, seldom enough, however, to 
allow a small boy to sit away back in the stern, all of which 
is well enough in a small boat, but the principle seems gro- 
tesque enough when applied to one that will carry a ton. Our 
craft was of the stereotyped mould and dragged heavily, at 
times requiring the help of all to push and paddle her over the 
bars. We suggested that a part of the cargo be carried further 
forward to trim ship properly, but the captain — there was a 
captain and one crew- — allowed that he had loaded a good 
many boats in his life and never had to shift the load either 
(actual measurement showed that we drew 2 inches of water 
forward and 18 at the stern), still his position was triumphantly 
maintained until we dragged over the sandy bottom into 
8 



86 



The Adirondacks. 



Round Lake and up to Bartlett's followed by a series of swells 
such as follow in the wake of a propeller. 

Round Lake is about two and one-half miles in diameter 
and, as its name implies, nearly round in shape. It contains 
several very pretty rocky islands, and although the surround- 
ing country is quite level, the shores are bold and at that time 
were brilliant in their autumn dress. Passing across we went 
out on the west side between two great rocks, and up a slow 
stream half a mile, to the hotel. 




BARTLETT S. 



Bartlett's is at the foot of the short carry, between Round 
Lake and the upper Saranac. Here the boats are taken from 
the water and transported to the upper lake on a cart at a cost 
of fifty cents for each boat. The house, which will accommo- 
date about fifty, is a long, low, old-fashioned structure, with a 
rambling, uncertain look about it and its out-buildings, as 
though they were dropped down here and there as a tempo- 
rary sort of arrangement. The interior is pleasant, containing 
some fine and well-furnished rooms ; the table is excellent. It 
is reached principally by the route we pursued and has no con- 
nection with the outer world save by boat or through the wild 
woods. The proprietor, Mr. Bartlett, has lived there for many 



Bartlett's. 87 

years, and his host of friends will regret to learn that he is to 
give up the business. 

"Yes," said he, "I've had enough of it. I've slaved as 
long as I am going to, and I'm going to sell out. Never'll 
take another boarder as long as I live, unless it be some old 
friend, like Dr. Ely, for instance." He did not say who would 
occupy his old stand, but whoever it may be it will require 
considerable talent to fill the old proprietor's place, for he is 
well liked, as is also Mrs. Bartlett, who impressed me as being 
a lady of refinement and culture. Mr. Bartlett is a short, 
thick-set man, with a brusque way of speaking that sounds 
cross until you catch the kindly twinkle in his eye. My 
numerous questions concerning his affairs seemed to bother 
him until I explained that, in a small way, I was connected 
with the press. 

" The press ! " said he, with a snap ; " darn the press ! I've 
been pressed to death. I don't want any thing more to do 
with it; I don't care what they say about me." Then, with 
that twinkle in his eye, he told of some things that the press 
had said of him, which showed him to be not entirely lost to 
its blandishments. 

All, or nearly all, of the sporting houses advertise to 
furnish fishing-tackle and everything required for the sport ; 
so after dinner we decided to take a trip through the upper 
lake and return at night (as the course we had marked out 
simply led across the south end of it), and thought it would 
do no harm to put out a trolling-line — possibly we might 
strike something — so we applied to the clerk for the neces- 
sary articles. He didn't appear particularly anxious to spring 
around and produce them. He was devoted to his duties 
which called for his presence behind a little desk that fenced 
off one corner of the room, and afforded a safe retreat for 
himself and sundry mysterious-looking bottles. Some folks 
would have taken it for a bar ; but, bless you ! it was no such 
thing. At least the only things called for were "opodeldoc" 
and " laughing-gas," and everybody knows that neither of 
those articles are spirituous. At last he said he would try to 
rig me up, so he started. In the course of a half-hour I 
found him sitting contentedly on the porch, where he had 



88 The Adirondack^. 

stopped to rest, and was soothed with the information that he 
didn't believe there was any use of trying to troll. I thought 
so myself, but nevertheless wanted to do it as long as I had 
set out with that intention, so he started again. After another 
lapse of valuable time I set out once more and found him in 
the guide-house, serenely seated on a dry goods box, swinging 
his legs back and forth and drumming with his fingers in a 
dreary sort of way. I was anxious and had to interrupt his 
reverie. 1 said : 

"Where's that line?" 

" Hain't got none ; " then he whistled a little tune. 

" But don't you advertise to supply such things ? " 

The question didn't seem to interest him much, but he 
stopped whistling long enough to say, "Yes." 

" Well, can you do it ? " 

My perseverance in the insane desire seemed to excite a 
mild surprise in his brain and he said that Bartlett had had 
some that summer, but he guessed they were all lost; any- 
way he didn't know where they were. I was told that if the 
proprietor had been at home I would have had no trouble, as 
he was always ready to help his guests in every way possible. 
But I don't blame the clerk, not a bit, he was overworked ; 
nearly tired out at the time and did give out entirely so that 
he had to be put to bed quite early that evening. At last, by 
aid of our guide, we succeeded in getting a line, and started. 

The Upper Saranac is about eight miles long and perhaps 
two wide, the longest way being north and south. It dis- 
charges toward the east from its south end through an arm 
which is nearly two miles deep, then making quite a rapid de- 
scent for the distance of a hundred rods to where, at its foot, 
is situated Bartlett's — our stopping-place. It contains a num- 
ber of rocky islands, some of them high and bold. The shores 
are thickly wooded and picturesque, the country around quite 
level, and the hills about can scarcely lay claim to the title of 
mountain. At its head —the terminus of the road to Bloom- 
ingdale, fourteen miles distant — is the Prospect House, a 
clean, white building with a thrifty look about it that speaks 
volumes in its favor. 

We reached Bartlett's soon after dark, and I didn't get a 



Exciting Sport. 89 

bite, although I fished faithfully. Perhaps the velocity of our 
boat had something to do with our ill-luck ; as the " gang " to 
which a shiner was attached would spring out of the water 
occasionally, and "skitter" along the surface like any thing 
but a fish ; but the spirit of Isaac Walton moved within me, 
and I felt the excitement of the veteran angler at the very 
sound of the word " fish." I had admired Murray for his won- 
derful skill, devoured the contents of " I go-a-fishing" with 
avidity and felt able to play any thing and throw any kind of 
a fly in existence. In imagination, with the great piscatorial 
lights of the age, I had felt my heart thrill at sight of a poly- 
wog and closed my eyes in an ecstacy of bliss, as I thought 
of the terrific ravings of a half-ounce sucker when fairly fast. 
With such feelings surging through my breast we went in to 
supper. Ah! can it be possible? Yes, yes. it is ! it is ! ! A 
school of fish-balls within easy reach ! I will catch one ; but 
what true fisherman can act the part of a butcher? True 
greatness in that line consists not in the amount bagged, but 
the manner of doing it. My heart thrilled with the excite- 
ment which the angler feels when the gently undulating mo- 
tion of the atmosphere tells him that his game is nigh. I 
prepared for a cast. A moment's hesitation, in which the 
momentous question presented itself whether I had better 
take my " scarlet dragon " or " blue-tailed ibes." I tried both, 
but not a ripple stirred the quiet depths ; then I tried a spoon. 
Now I contend that it requires a great deal of skill to cast a 
spoon properly for a fish-ball, especially at this season of the 
year. Carefully I played it around over the bread; dragged 
it slowly across the potatoes, skittered it lightly over the but- 
ter and let it drop where I knew the wary creatures were lying 
in wait. Slowly it settled down, lightly as the dew into the 
heart of a blushing rose. A gentle ripple stirred the surface; 
I felt intuitively that the trying moment had come. A thrill 
shot up my arm and throughout my body to the very pit of 
my stomach as the beautiful creature curled upward and 
struck — struck hard. Then began the struggle for life on 
the one side against science on the other — mind against mat- 
ter. It is an undoubted fact that an intellectual man, with a 
good spoon, is more than a match for any fish-ball in exist- 



oo The Aim ron packs. 

ence. Carefully I played him, for it was a gamey fish-ball. 
The surrounding 1 gravy was lashed into fury and foamed white 
as the driven snow, but the cruel spoon held him, and with 
a sullen shaking he vested on the bottom — preparing for an- 
other run. Now he darts away like a Hash of light, and is 
brought up by my gradually, though firmly compressing arm ; 
then he turned, and as he passed he clove his native element as 
the thunder-bolt might cleave a summer squash ; bnt the 
spoon brought him up once more and he turned directly 
toward ns. It was a critical moment — a moment of terrible 
suspense. 

" Give him the butt ! " screamed the Professor, dodging 
behind the teapot : "give him the butt ! " 

•• Stand firm. Professor !" I cried, wrought up to the high- 
est pitch o\ excitement as the enraged fish-ball sprang seven- 
teen feet in the air and made directly for me with my month 
wide open : " stand firm, and the victory is ours." 

I gave him the butt as he came, and the delicate rod bent 
as a reed shaken in the wind. Oh ! the terrific fire that blazed 
from the eye of that fish-ball will haunt me till my dying- day. 
Rage, agony, despair, all blended in one as. shaking the spark- 
ling- drops of water from his gleaming sides he sprang entirely 
over ns — plunged downward on the other side and again re- 
newed the attack. Bnt 1 desist. Suffice it to say that at the 
expiration of an exciting hour and fifty-nine minutes sport. 1 
succeeded in safely landing that heroic creature and laid him. 
a conquered fish-ball, at my feet. Science had triumphed. 

Mr. Murray savs. that "the highest bodily beatitude he 
ever expects to reach, is to sit in a boat with John at the 
paddle, and match again a Conroy rod against a three-pound 
trout;' 1 but us for me, give me my trusty spoon, or even a 
sharp stick. I care not -rc/'vsits at the paddle, and let me once 
more feel the deathless joy of a single handed encounter with 
an untamed fish-ball, and I'll murmur not even though a 
yawning legislature opens and sucks me in forever. Pardon 
this ebullition, but 1 can never keep cool when so terribly ex- 
cited, and right here, let me lift my voice against the horrible 
practice of some coarse natures whose soul never swept up- 
ward to a spiritual conception of flies, and who. with no ex- 



Tupper Lake Region. 91 

cuse, save perhaps that of hunger, can, with a common hook 
and line, and filthy worms for bait, snatch a kingly trout bald- 
headed, and lay him gasping in uncomfortable terror on the 
ground. We cannot find words of condemnation strong enough 
to express our horror of this barbarous practice, which is ex- 
tremely vulgar, contributes nothing to science, and is in all 
probability excessively annoying to the fish. 

On the contrary, the scientific allurement of a denizen of 
the aqueous fluid to one more volatile is an achievement wor- 
thy of a great intellect. The skillful playing prepares the 
noble creature for its final transition which, if not actually 
attended with pleasurable sensations to the subject in ques- 
tion, must be owing to its lack of appreciation of the import- 
ant part it is playing in the march of intellect. It is also more 
christian-like and refined than bull baiting, because less dan- 
gerous, and we cannot wonder that great minds — divines even 
— are sometimes translated by its wonderful fascinations. 

Tupper Lake Region. 

At Bartlett's, three great wilderness routes diverge, one 
toward the north through the Upper Saranac and other lakes 
to Paul Smith's on the St. Regis, another west to the Tupper 
lake region, and a third, south to Long and Raquette lakes. 

About two miles west of Bartlett's is the old Sweeny Carry, 
now operated by the Daniels' Brothers, who live at its east 
and west ends, three miles apart, transporting boats and lug- 
gage across at $1.50 per load when required. The western 
terminus rests on Raquette river which, followed down eleven 
miles, touches Big Tupper's lake at its outlet. Here at the 
foot — a little to the left — is a very comfortable wildwood 
hotel kept by Martin Moody, with accommodations for fifty 
guests. Moody is an old hunter and guide, and is perfectly 
familiar with the lake region for miles around, which, together 
with the location, renders his place very desirable to the 
sportsman. (See page 170.) 

The country is comparatively level, while it has, in reality, a 
mountain air, being a part of that vast elevated plateau 
which goes to make up so much of the western portion of the 
wilderness, and although Mt. Morris may fairly be called a 



92 The Adirondacks. 

mountain, standing where it does, it would hardly be noticed 
among the great peaks. 

Tupper's Lake is six miles in extent, contains a number of 
picturesque islands, some rocky and barren, others covered 
with verdure ; the shores are bold, at one place rising to a 
height of seventy feet. A rocky bluff well worth inspection, 
is known as the Devil's Pulpit, although why, or what he 
could possibly want of such an article will probably remain a 
mystery for some time to come. Another object of peculiar 
beauty and interest is the water of Bog river, hanging like a 
ribbon of silver down over the face of the cliff at the head of 
the lake. Besides Moody's, there are three other families near 
the foot, namely, Stetson, McLaughlin and McBride, making, 
for that region, what is considered a large settlement, and 
although somewhat crowded, they seem to live harmoniously 
enough, compressed, as they are, within the circuit of a mile 
or two. Near the head of the lake is " Graves' Lodge," 
another sporting house of some note. From Graves' a route 
leads over a three mile carry to Horseshoe pond, then by boat 
with an occasional carry, through chain ponds, twelve miles 
further to that dismal sheet of waters known as Mud lake. 

Mud Lake is less than two miles in extent the longest 
way, covered in their season with lily-pads and margined 
with rank wild grass, a favorite feeding spot for deer, if 
not indeed the best in the entire wilderness, and also 
noted as a breeding place for those Adirondack luxuries — 
black flies and mosquitoes, which, together with its lonely 
position, serves to keep sportsmen from becoming too familiar 
with its waters. Around this dark lake and away from its head 
stretches a natural meadow where of old the moose came to 
feed in vast numbers, before their ranks were thinned by 
the hunters, then one by one they fell, until at last it was 
thought not one remained in the wilderness, the last of his 
race being shot, it is said, about fifteen years ago by Governor 
Seymour in the John Brown tract. Of late, however, signs 
have been seen at Mud lake, and last summer, it is claimed, 
the fresh tracks of a three-year old moose were found in Her- 
kimer county by Charles Fenton who is authority for the state- 
ment, and not supposed to be easily mistaken, as he has hunted 



Indian Carry. 93 

these animals repeatedly. Let us hope that it is indeed so and 
that when the wilderness shall be created a great public park, 
the protecting arm of the law will be thrown around its deni- 
zens, and once more the ground may tremble beneath the 
tread of the mighty moose. 

Cranberry Lake is seven miles north of Mud lake, 
one of the largest of the Adirondack series, being about fif- 
teen miles in length, discharges through the Oswegatchie 
river toward the north, and is usually visited from the west 
via Gouverneur. Another route from Tupper's lake leads 
south through Round pond to Little Tupper's, thence through 
a chain of ponds to Long lake ; still another from the head of 
Little Tupper's passes through Charley pond, Smith's and 
Albany lakes ; then through pond and brook to Oswegatchie 
river, and north into Cranberry lake ; in short, there is no 
end to the routes, and if the tourist is not satisfied with the 
amusement at the end of the last one named, he must be an 
enthusiastic sportsman indeed. 

The Indian Carry, at the southern extremity of the Upper 
Saranac, is nearly two miles from Bartlett's. Located here is 
an old settler, who, like nearly all the inhabitants of the great 
wilderness, keeps a hotel, which is half frame, half log, with 
accommodations for about a dozen guests. As we approached, 
a young man who had anticipated our wants, appeared on the 
shore with a horse attached to a wagon, on which we easily 
lifted our light boat, that, with scarcely a moment's delay, was 
going over land to Stony creek. 

This is the noted Indian carry, a smooth road running 
through a belt of cleared land, one mile in length ; at the 
southern end is another family, who, with Corey at the north, 
haul boats and baggage over at seventy-five cents per load. 
It is said that years ago an Indian village stood here on what 
was one of their principal highways — hence the name. 

The Spectacle Ponds, or Stony creek ponds, are three in 
number; the first a few rods in extent, the second — into 
which we went through a reedy gate — about a mile the long- 
est way ; the third very like the first. As we passed out the 
deep baying of a hound attracted our attention, and almost at 



94 The Adirondack^. 

the same moment a noble buck came down the hillside on 
the east, stood motionless, until our guide, who was young to 
the woods and appeared suddenly attacked with the buck 
fever, fired four times at him, then turned and bounded 
away, touching the ground daintily as a butterfly, or as a 
feather blown along by the wind, with that peculiar undulat- 
ing motion so wonderful in an animal weighing, as he did, two 
hundred pounds at the least. 

" I'm glad of it," said the Professor, and so was I, although 
for the moment the soul of a Nimrod had struggled within 
me and I longed to " draw a bead " on him. 

Stony Creek, applied to the stream which we entered, is a 
misnomer. It runs about three miles in making what in a 
straight line is but little more than one ; slow, sluggish, run- 
ning through a swamp, its shores lined with tall grass and the 
sprawling, ragged swamp-maples that seem to flourish best in 
a watery soil . We met two or three parties, apparently bound 
homeward, and then came out and floated on the red waters 
of the Raquette. From the mouth of Stony Creek down the 
Raquette it is twenty miles to Big Tupper lake. 

Mother Johnson's is on the Raquette, seven miles above 

r ?JS£*N& '§Wbj.. « Stony Creek. All admirers of the 

£^^mW^^~ & Rev.W. H. H. Murray, and readers 

-\jT- /*& ^''' '--fro. 'iB^S^*'^ ^ 

*--'■% of his romantic and perilous ad- 





pancakes, and Mother Johnson is the one who had the honor of 
providing them. We reached the house at noon, and the 
good-natured old lady got up a splendid dinner for us ; veni- 
son that had (contrary to the usual dish set before us) a juici- 
ness and actual taste to it. Then she had a fine fish on the 
table. 

"What kind of a fish is that, Mrs. Johnson?" I inquired. 

"Well," said she, "they don't have no name after the 15th 
of September. They are a good deal like trout, but it's against 
the law to catch trout after the fifteenth, you know." 



Up the Raquette. 



95 



Mother Johnson moved 
herewith her husband in 1870, 
and they pick up a good many 
dollars during the season from 
travelers, who seldom pass 
without getting at least one 
meal. Boats are dragged over 
the carry nearly two miles in 
extent, and a very rough road 
at that, on an ox sled, at a 
cost of $1.50. A few rods 
above the house is Raquette 
Falls, laying claim to the honor 
of being Mr. Murray's "Phantom Falls." The actual fall 
here is probably not over twelve or fifteen feet. Mother 
Johnson entertains a very exalted opinion of Mr. Murray, with 
good reason, too, as his Adirondack book first turned the 
tide of travel past her door, and was the means of converting 
her pancakes (we had some) into greenbacks ; and although 
she may subscribe heartily to the belief that " man was created 
a little lower than the angels," it is no more than natural that 
she should make an exception in the case of the Nimrodish 
divine alluded to. 




MOTHER JOHNSON. 



rfs^ K J. 




UP THE RAQUETTE. 



After dinner we followed the boat over the carry in its awful 
slushy, snowy muddiness, and putting it in above the rapids 
set out up the river once more. Here the water, that at a 
depth of two feet is a rich brown or red, appeared almost inky 
in its blackness. Sluggish in its motion, it seemed to fill the 
space left and fairly round up in the center. Great dark green 



96 The Adirondack^. 

cedars line its banks, their branches reaching out toward the 
light and downward thirstily toward the water, seeming in this 
to display their love for light and moisture, for the sides away 
from the river were naked and limbless. Here the river is four 
or five rods in width, and so still that when we passed up it 
seemed more like a river of black glass than water. It has 
slowly worn away the banks and undermined the cedars that 
line it until they have fallen over and stand at every con- 
ceivable angle with the surface of the stream, and as they 
have gradual^ fallen, the body, with its love for the zenith^ 
has curled upward, the smaller limbs that at first reached down 
toward the water, seemingly alarmed at their too near approach, 
turn upward and hang in great hooks and solid festoons from 
their leaning supports, the whole duplicated in the mirror 
below, seemingly made our journey lie through grand isles of 
gothic arches on either side, while we floated on a thin some- 
thing that held us suspended midway between the heavens 
above and the heavens below. 

About five miles from Mother Johnson's we passed the 
mouth of Cold River coming down from Mount Seward on 
the east and supplying, by considerable, the largest volume of 
water of the two rivers which here meet. Above this we 
occasionally ran on a bar and had to pick our way carefully 
up. We had left the cedars, passed through the maples, now 
stripped of their foliage, and came out on a natural meadow, 
where the coarse hay had been cut and piled up on platforms 
resting on piles, there to stay until the ice should render them 
accessible to sleighs. 

Over the shallow outlet we went through the tall grass, 
where several mounds of sticks and reeds showed the presence 
of a colony of muskrats, out into Long Lake and across to 
the Island House, where a jolly party of spiritual fellows were 
having aloud time. It is owned by John Davis at Newcomb, 
proprietor of the Halfway House there, and will accommodate 
about 30 ; is reached by way of Kellogg's or over the new 
water route opened up to Newcomb 12 miles distant, passing 
through Catlin and other lakes, it is 9 miles from Kellogg's 
and 6 from Mother Johnson's. 

Long Lake is nearly 14 miles in length and about one mile 



Long Lake Village. 97 

in width at the widest part, which is near its outlet. It runs 
in a north-easterly direction, receives the waters of the Ra- 
quette River at its head and gives them up to the same name 
at its foot. Thence, the water flowing northward, joins Cold 
River, and passing within about three miles of the Saranac 
lakes, turns toward the south-west, touching the foot of Big 
Tupper's Lake, then north-westerly past Potsdam to the St* 
Lawrence. Long Lake contains several islands ; one, nearly 
midway between the inlet and the outlet is called Round 
Island, and resembles Dome Island of Lake George, only that 
it is more perfect in its dome-like appearance. Near the head 
of the lake, on the west, is the Owl's Head, a mountain marked 
on the map as being 2,706 feet above tide, but as Long Lake 
is over 1,500 above the ocean, the Owl's Head isn't much of a 
mountain after all. To the west the country is level ; on the 
east is Mount Kempshall, originally called Long Lake Moun- 
tain ; on the north the blue serrated summit of Mount Sew- 
ard, 5,100 feet above tide. 

Three or four years ago some one put a few pickerel into 
Long Lake to see if they would breed. The experiment was 
a success. They multiplied and replenished the pickerel 
world in a way truly wonderful ; and now it is rare sport for 
fishermen, but the guides, who have been spoiled on trout and 
salmon, want to just get hold of the man who put the first lot 
in. They do not fancy the slime that goes with the fish which 
they call a hog, ready to bite any thing that comes along, from 
a dish-rag to a small boy, "plays" like a Iqg, their "game- 
ness " consisting of a habit they have of allowing themselves 
to be dragged anywhere after they are once fairly hooked. 

Long Lake Village, commonly called " Gougeville," is 
situated on the east side of the lake, y/ 2 miles from its head. 
It is composed of 18 to 20 buildings, assorted sizes, a school- 
house, church, store, post-office, and what is of more interest 
to the average traveler, Kellogg's popular hotel. At present, 
I have no vivid recollection of a " Sabbath in the woods," 
but in this connection do remember one spent at Gougeville 
three or four years ago, which was ushered in by a general 
brightening up of guns and sorting of fishing-tackle that indi- 
cated any thing but a devotional spirit as the word is generally 

9 



o8 The Adirondack^. 

understood, and seemed to show that there was a variety of 
opinion as to the proper manner of celebrating the day in 
question. 

We concluded to attend divine worship and in due time found 
ourselves seated in the little church listening to an earnest 
discourse from the minister who was also blacksmith, lawyer, 
shoemaker and merchant in a small way, besides devoting his 
leisure hours to meditation and farming. 

The interior was not what could properly be styled luxuri- 
ous, but it was substantial. Over the pulpit, and occupying a 
considerable portion of that end of the building, was an im- 
mense marine clock, great in the display of gold, while letters 
on its face explained that it was " presented by Dr. Todd's 
Mission S. School," from somewhere or other — I don't re- 
member where just now, but understand that the philanthropic 
donors are at present engaged in a laudable endeavor to fur- 
nish overcoats to the suffering Hottentot ; it did seem like 
discouraging work for a frail mortal of a minister man to 
attempt to lead minds away on the ocean of eternity with time 
staring them so squarely in the face. Uneducated as we were 
in the science of mellifluous strains, we could but notice the 
vast difference between the rendition of familiar pieces by the 
choir, and the high spiced olio of sacred song dispensed by 
the $20,000 kind. There was no sinful mixing of Old Hun- 
dred with the latest operas ; no voluptuous waltzes trickling 
down through tortured coronation ; no basso profundo howl- 
ings in Le Diable — revamped for Sunday ears; no fancy runs, 
artistic slides, or coltish whinnying in the upper register, but 
primitive purity undefiled ruled the hour, the leader leading 
off gallantly, and as soon as it became known what tune he 
had started a female voice dashed in a half note behind 
making great exertions to close the gap between them. 
Now voice after voice took up the strain that rose and 
swelled until it seemed that three or four voices were blended 
together like a half dozen ; some wandered away and foun- 
dered ; the high soprana made several gallant starts ahead 
to pass the leader, but he kept to his knitting, and came out 
first — winning the heat by a good half-length, while the bass 

14 Came rumbling after." 



MlTCHEL SABATTIS. 99 

Here, at Long Lake, the road from Pottersville and Schroon 
touches, thence turning south, continues along the east shore 
and south-west, past Raquette Lake, at places being little more 
than a mere trail and known as the Carthage road. The land 
around, while apparently promising well, is cold and illy- 
adapted to farming purposes, some of the clearings having 
been made upwards of forty years, and quite good buildings 
put up, but a blight seems to have come over them, which is 
especially noticeable on the road toward Newcomb ; the town- 
ship contains about 300 inhabitants, who subsist principally 
by guiding through the summer, and hunting and trapping in 
the winter. There are several places of entertainment besides 
the regular hotel among them. Palmer's, a favorite stopping 
place of A. F. Tait, the artist, 2^ miles south of Kellogg's, is 
well spoken of. 

Mitchel Sabattis, who also keeps boarders, is a noted 
Indian guide, who has figured extensively in all histories of 
that region and deserves more than a passing notice. He was 

born at Parishville, St. Law- 
rence county, September 29, 
1823, a pure blood of the tribe 
of St. Francis, he early took 
to the woods as naturally as a 
duck to water. On the death 
of his mother, which occurred 
when he was but seven years 
of age, his father, " Captain 
Peter," as he was universally 
called, used to take him along 
mitchel sabattis. on his various hunting and 

trapping expeditions. The Captain, who earned his right to 
the title by his services in that capacity during the war ot the 
Revolution, is said to have been a noble specimen of a man — 
mentally as well as physically, and died in 1859 at the advanced 
age of 108. As a proof of his physical powers a place is still 
pointed out a little below Raquette Pond, known as "Cap- 
tain Peter's rock," from which he once leaped to the shore, 
fully sixteen feet distant. Mitchel is earnest, intelligent and 
thrifty, a member of the Methodist church, is authority for 




ioo The Adirondacks. 

many things relating to Indian history, has probably seen 
more of wood life than any other man in the wilderness, a 
fearless and successful hunter and is generously admitted by 
other guides to have the best knowledge of the woods of any 
man in the country. He killed his first deer when 13 years 
of age, and since then the number that has fallen before his 
unerring rifle is legion ; he has also taken several bears, nine 
panthers — actually driving one, a huge fellow, along a narrow 
shelf on the face of a ledge into a crevice, from which he was 
dislodged by two or three vigorous punches with a sharp 
stick in order that a companion might get a shot at him, but 
for some unaccountable reason he failed to do it, and Sabattis 
dispatched the beast himself; on measuring, the panther was 
found to be 9 feet from tip to tip. In his earlier days, moose 
were plenty in the woods and he has killed twenty of these 
huge animals, the last being in 1854. The old hunter is still 
hale and hearty, bidding fair, with his iron constitution, to 
guide for many a year to come. 

Long Lake has one industry wherein it stands at the head, 
that of boat-building, a " Long Lake boat" in the Adiron- 
dacks being considered the synonym of all that is graceful 
and perfect in that line, the regulation boat is about 3 feet 
wide, from 14 to 17 long, weighing when new, from 60 to 80 
pounds, and costing about one dollar per pound. 

The Long Lake Hotel, kept by C. H. Kellogg, is situ- 
ated about one-fourth mile from the lake shore, a large white 
building, comfortably furnished, setting a good table and with 
a capacity for taking care of thirty guests very comfortably; 
a dashing little brook foams and tumbles past close by, said 
to yield hosts of speckled beauties, and a fleet of boats on the 
lake shore is at the service of those who will troll for the 
heavier pickerel and " lakers." Kellogg's hotel and store is a 
base of supplies for the region round about, and is a starting 
point for routes which radiate in various directions. Stages 
carrying the mail arrive and depart twice weekly through the 
sporting season, passing through Newcomb to Minerva, 
thence to the Adirondack railroad at North Creek, or to Pot- 
tersville at the foot of Schroon Lake, each about 41 miles 
distant. It is the head-quarters of a long list of guides who 
stand at the very head of the profession. 



CHAPTER IX. 




The Schoolmaster, 



E SENT our Saranac guide back, and in- 
quired for one who understood the Ra- 
quette Lake region. 

" I know the man you want," said our 
host, in a way as though he felt himself re- 
sponsible for our future happiness; "Char- 
ley Blanchard knows all about it, just came 
from that region day before yesterday. I'll 
send for him." 

He did so, and soon a little fellow in a 
Garabaldian shirt stood before us. Think- 
ing of the work a guide is expected to do, 
it seemed as though this one was meant for a joke or an orna- 
mental head that we would have to carry over the rough 
places. Kellogg must have noticed the look of surprise on 
our faces, for, taking me aside, he said : 

"Oh, he's all right; knows the country better'n I do my 
house, and will take you right every time." 

"Carry a boat too ? " I asked, incredulously gazing at the 
slight figure. 

" Yes, sir! carried a boat, oars and all, over the same route 
a day or two ago. Then he can learn you something — tell 
you all you want to know. There's no need of his guiding at 
all, only he likes it. I tell you what, sir, he's qualified for bet- 
ter things. He's — a — school — master ! ! ! " 

Of course we were overwhelmed, and engaged the school- 
master at once, finding him a willing worker, a pleasant 
companion and an exceptionally good guide — thoroughly ac- 
quainted with the region through which we were traveling. 

Four miles from Kellogg's we came to the rapids. Here the 
professor and myself took the loose articles, and the school- 



102 



The Adirondacks. 




CHARLEY BLANCHARD. 



master started off with the in- 
verted boat over his head, his 
shoulders fitting into the wood- 
en yoke, on the ends of which 
the wales rested, looking like a 
huge inverted pickle dish on a 
pair of legs. 

Reader, did you ever assist 
over one of these portages 
where, in the dense forests, the 
path seldom gets dry, and the 
decayed leaves and vegetable 
mould makes a bottom with- 
out a bottom, a river of black 
muck with roots and white 
stones projecting above the 
surface, which same are stepping places for the skillful but 
fearful traps for the unwary. 

The guide takes the boat and you are ex- 
pected to carry the lighter articles. You ad- 
mire him as he starts out lightly, stepping 
from rock to rock along the slippery path. 
Your soul swells with conscious freedom, you 
snuff in inspiration and black flies by the 
mouthful, gather up the oars, paddle, guns, 
fish-rods, etc., and step out determined to 
show that you too are a natural woodsman. How exhil- 
arating the action, the excitement of springing from rock 
to rock, watching your feet that they do not get the start 
of you, for the solid bottom may be anywhere from two 
inches to two feet below the surface ; dodging the 
bushes that scratch your hands and slap you in 
the face without the slightest provocation. After 
a while you find that the oars and other things 
are on a tender place, and you change only to 
make it worse ; then they have got into a dis- 
agreeable habit of spreading out at various 
angles — straddling saplings, going on one side 
of trees when you had designed to pass on the 





The Carry. 103 

other, and when you back up for another start you wrench 
your neck, get a crick in your back in the struggle to dodge 
the various limbs that are making unprovoked lunges at you, 
and at last your foot glides gently down and disappears in 
the inky depths. 

Surprise, perspiration and determination appears on your 
face as you plant the other firmly and making a desperate 
effort, resurrect the missing one with a ihuck that nearly sends 
you over on the other side. Now, matters are getting inter- 
esting, and you, careless of results ; the guide is disappearing 
through the trees, the things on your shoulder hurt worse 
and sprawl about more than ever, the young sapling and trees 
crowd closer to the path, and its like trying to push a cat 
through a knot-hole backwards. You look for all the world 
like a dilapidated umbrella sailing under bare poles, while 
your expression is any thing but that of a master of the 
situation as you put your foot down on one end of a dead 
root while the other comes up and swats you in the face with 
a dipper full of mud — the chances are that at about this 
juncture you begin to talk to yourself, it depends very much 
on how you were brought up. 

Grimly you plow forward now, caring nothing how many 
trees you overturn in your course, determined not to back 
down for them at all events ; then one on either side catch 
an oar, and they shut up on your aching neck like a pair of 
shears, a friendly limb lifts your hat and drops it in the mud 
right where you was going to step, so to save your hat you 
make some playful passes in various ways, one foot gets 
on top of the other, then they wander off in different direc- 
tions and you sit down. 

It is a delightful sensation to sit down — in the wild 
woods — after violent exercise — and rest. Gentle zephyrs 
steal refreshingly across your brow and black mud insinu- 
atingly into your pants. At such a moment as this, free from 
the thraldom of civilization, in the solemn stillness of the 
mighty forests, with a soul attuned to the inspiring harmony 
of nature, your thoughts wander back to childhood's happy 
hours, and in the ecstasy of the moment some well-remembered 
passage learned at Sabbath-school comes welling up from youi 



104 The Adirondacks. 

joyous heart. It is safest, however, not to let it well too much, 
as Bible quotations are liable to get somewhat mixed and a 
disinterested beholder might misconstrue your devotional ex- 
pressions. At such an hour the most a man wants is undemon- 
strative sympathy — such episodes, however, are only the 
spice that season the dish of glorious things served up here 
among the mountains and lakes of the great wilderness. 

A half-mile carry brought us to still water, then a short dis- 
tance of boating to Buttermilk Falls, (which also lays claim to 
being Murray's " Phantom Falls ! ") Here the water dashes 
and foams down over the rocks, making a descent of about 
twenty feet, and the name, though not very poetical, was 
probably suggested by the churning that it gets in reaching 
the bottom. 

" Murray talk about shooting the falls in his boat in pur- 
suit of the phantom form, is a very probable story for a minis- 
ter to tell," said the school-master with a contemptuous 
shrug. " It would sound better for one of us guides, though. 
Why, I drove a brood of ducks down over there once ; the 
old one knew better than to go — she flew up stream — but 
they — a dozen of young ones — went over, and only three 
came out alive. He talk of doing it ! There isn't Baptist 
enough about him, but there's one thing he can " shoot," that's 
the long bow ;" alas for Mr. Murray's reputation for veracity — 
the beautiful creations of his fancy — the bright pictures con- 
jured up by his fertile brain, are held as witnesses against him, 
simply because he, in his lavish generosity, enriched the com- 
mon occurrences of every-day life in the woods with the pre- 
cious increase of conceptive genius — leaving a dazzled world 
to separate the real from the ideal, and the guides take him 
literally as he says, and have come to the conclusion generally 
that if his preaching is not a better guide to heaven than his 
book to the Adirondacks, his congregation might manage to 
worry through with a cheaper man. 

We put the boat in the deep quiet water above and went 
upward a mile and a half, then a portage of the same distance, 
brought us to Forked Lake. 

Forked Lake is a lovely sheet of water about 5 miles in 
length, and appropriately named, as it is nearly all forks — a 



Raquette Lake. 105 

confusing train of alternate points and bays on the north, 
although on the south the shore is comparatively straight, the 
country being generally level or slightly rolling except where 
the Owl's Head looks over into the lake from the north-east. 
We passed the outlet of Raquette Lake and soon landed on 
the south shore at an old clearing, four miles from where we 
came in, where stood the blackened ruins of what was once a 
sporting house. Then through a half mile of cleared ground 
now overgrown with bushes, down into the tall timber land 
across the Carthage road, and we stood on the shores of 

Raquette Lake. 

This, the " queen lake of the Adirondacks," is indeed a 
lovely sheet of water, lacking only the grand old mountains 
that some possess to make it all that heart could wish , it is 
over 1,700 feet above tide, surrounded by trees of almost every 
variety to be found in the wilderness, which stretches away 
in gentle undulations on all sides, with here and there a moun- 
tain ridge or peak rising above its fellows. 

Where we first stood on the shore, the sombre pines lined 
the water edge and extended downward in inky shadows ; to- 
ward the west, the portals widened out in successive shady 
coves, and bold rocky promontories, fringed with crimson 
maples, green and golden beeches, and the silver birch, while 
through these gateways, appeared gently sloping hillsides, 
edged with glittering sand that seemed to tremble in ecstasy 
under the heat waves of an unclouded sun. 

Our course was westerly for a distance, then as we rounded 
a rocky promontory on the left and turned toward the south, 
a scene unparalleled for sweet, quiet beauty, burst on our en- 
raptured sight. Behind us, across the glassy lake, a single 
boat was moving, leaving a double line of beaded silver to 
mark its course ; beyond, from the north shore, a point came 
out, its surface almost as level as the motionless lake itself; 
edged with a smooth white beach, covered with grand old 
forest trees that ran up clear and straight for many feet, while 
upward through them curled the faint blue smoke of some 
hunter's camp fire. Now the shore sweeps around away to 
the west and comes back in the broad meadow arid woodland 



106 The Adirondacks. 

of Indian Point, where once stood a village that has passed 
away, leaving only its name as the heritage of the red man ; 
thence westward deep into Eagle Bay, and away toward the 
south, then approaching and receding in alternate wooded 
capes and deep bays to meet others on the east where the low 
ridges come down to the lake side, while between them the 
silvery water reflects island gems and vistas of tender purple 
distance. 

The day, like the two preceding and the one to follow, was 
indescribably lovely ; not a breath stirred the surface, nothing, 
save the Indian summer haze, which itself seemed luminous, 
dimmed the splendor of the sun's beams ; the shore seemed to 
pass by us, a panorama of beauty — a constantly changing flash 
of gorgeous colors, sombre shade, gleaming sand, and a glit- 
tering edge of light that marked the line between the real and 
the reflected. 

" Who would hesitate for one moment between the dusty 
city and a life among the grand old forests and lakes ? " said 
the school-master. " How beautiful this free temple, where 
every thought is an anthem of praise and thanksgiving." 

" Dem foin ! " said the Professor, from the bottom of the 
boat, opening one eye a little way ; " have you got such a thing 
as a sun shade or an umbrella about you? " 

We spared him on account of his youth, but the school- 
master was sad — all his sentiment was crushed out of him — 
and when we asked who made the clearings around the border 
of the lake, of which we saw three or four with rude log houses 
built thereon, he said : " I don't know ; some darn fool, I sup- 
pose, who expected to make a fortune here farming, forty miles 
from nowhere." They are all deserted now. 

Raquette Lake has nowhere an uninterrupted water line of 
more than eight or nine miles, but from its outlet to Indian 
Point, then south through what appears to be a great irregu- 
lar mass of bays and points, hanging to that side of the lake 
proper, to its head, is about twelve, but so irregular and wind- 
ing its edges, that it is estimated to have a shore line of from 
90 to 100 miles in extent. It contains a number of islands, 
the largest known as lt Beach's," with an area of nearly 300 
acres, is at the south end; it is covered principally with beech 



Alva Dunning. 



107 



and maple, clean and clear almost as any park, and affords 
a delightful camping place for those so disposed. Another 
favorite, although one can hardly go amiss in selecting a 
camping place here, is now known as " Murray's Island," so 
named in honor of the reverend sportsman who usually pitches 
his summer tent here. The original and appropriate name 
was " Osprey Island," from a species of large bird who built 
nests and reared their young year after year in the great pines 
that stand there. 

At the foot of one of these giants old 
Alva Dunning had built a bark shanty, and 
with his dogs lives there — a modern Rob- 
inson Crusoe. Two or three dogs came out 
with their master to see us — I cannot say 
welcome, for the dogs growled, and the old 
hunter growled, and our suddenly conceived 
idea of stopping there until the next day 
was changed by his surly permission when 
our desire was made known, so we con- 
tinued on toward the east inlet. 

Old Alva was in his normal condition — 
suffering from ill treatment. He has always 
been a sufferer, because he doesn't always 
look at things in the same light as others 
and he believes to this day that it was only 
by chance, aided somewhat by an over- 
ruling Providence, that his life is spared, 
for did not Ned Buntline, the terrible, chase 
him all over Blue Mountain Lake with intent to deposit lead 
in his venerable cuticle ? It is said that he hunted for Ned 
one summer and a misunderstanding arose, to settle which, 
Alva felt called upon to embezzle a boat of the novelist's, 
and after perforating it in various places to sink it in the lake. 
This manner of proceeding struck Ned as being out of order, 
so as a preliminary move he shot the old man's dog one day, 
while standing between his master's legs. This was nothing 
to the marksman, however, who is one of the best shots in 
the country, but Alva was grieved thereby, and threatened to 
set the "Eagle's Nest" on fire, with a longing to indulge in 




108 The Adirondacks. 

cremation. When asked about the affair, Ned said, " I drove 
him out of that section when I was there because he threatened 
my life. The old rip steered clear of me after he found that 
I was as ready to throw lead as he was threats." 

It is said that the first house at Raquette Lake was built on 
Indian Point, then one nearly opposite by a Mr. Wood, who 
lived there about twenty years, became discouraged, and left. 
The old house still stands on the east shore, near Murray's 
Island. Near by is one of the loveliest lakes to be found any- 
where in the region, known as Lake Eldom, a little more than 
a mile in. length, about half that in breadth, and in shape, 
almost a perfect oval. It is reached from the main lake by a 
narrow stream through a wooded belt but a few rods in width, 

— claimed by some to have been the work of beavers. At 
the west end of the lake proper is the outlet of Shallow Lake, 
whose waters pass through Cranberry Pond and stream — a 
difficult route — to the Raquette. Into Shallow Lake empties 
that "nameless creek," where once, at sunset, "the air was 
literally full of jumping trout." 

A small creek, known as the Brown Tract Inlet, empties in 
at the south-west point of Raquette Lake. Following up this 
for about four miles, then by a portage of i% more you enter 
the upper or eighth of the Fulton chain of lakes. Shed Lake 
and Mohican Pond is drained by the south inlet ; Lake Fonda, 
the head-waters of the south branch of Moose River, can be 
reached in this direction by the river and two carries, of about 
two miles each. 

There is but one hotel at Raquette Lake — that is " Cary's " 

— on the north shore near the outlet, where supplies are some- 
times procured by fastidious parties who prefer a camp to the 
luxuries of a hotel. 

Marion River, often called the east inlet, is the largest 
feeder of the Raquette ; toward this we turned the bow of our 
boat, and soon the quiet stream received us, shutting us in from 
the golden, queenly lake. Away to the east between the low 
hills that rise gently from the marsh on either side, Blue 
Mountain seemed to beckon us on ; here the river is perhaps 
four or five rods in width, with an almost imperceptible cur- 
rent, hardly moving the lily pads that parted as our skiff 



Marion River. I09 

scratched through the clusters, then drifted slowly back to 
their former position. This is a fair representative of a great 
many of the high country streams ; deep, dark, still, covered 
with lily pads and bordered with a broad belt of reedy marsh 
It is famed as a place for « floating," or Jack hunting, and we 
saw places where the ground was trodden by the hoofs of 
deer like that of a crowded sheep fold. For five miles the 
river was quiet, winding about so that, as the Professor sug- 
gested, "it would worry eels to follow;" then for another it 
rippled over sand and stones, where the overhanging alders 
slapped us in the face ; then followed a portage of a half-mile 
— two and a half more of boating across Utowana Lake, a 
half mile or more through the dark woods with the yellow 
sunset sky at our backs for a guide, while the pedagogue took 
the boat up through the shallow brook into Eagle Lake and 
around to where we waited ; then in the darkness we passed 
across to where a light shone out, and groping up the uneven 
slope found welcome and rest in the " Eagle's Nest," once the 
wilderness home of " Ned Buntline." 

IO 



CHAPTER X. 



it 



The Eagle's Nest." 



Where the silvery gleam of the rushing stream 
Is so brightly seen on the rocks dark green, 
Where the white pink grows by the wild red rose, 
And the blue bird sings till the welkin rings. 

Where the red deer leaps and the panther creeps. 
And the eagles scream over cliff and stream, 
Where the lilies bow their heads of snow, 
And the hemlocks tall throw a shade o'er all. 

Where the rolling surf laves the emerald turf, 
Where the trout leaps high at the hovering fly, 
Where the sporting fawn cross the soft green lawn, 
And the crows' shrill cry bodes a tempest nigh- 
There is my home — my wildwood home. 



f ED BUNTLINE, author of the above sweet 
lines that seem to rise upward like the joyous 
song of a wild bird, bringing thoughts of wild 
violets and the fragrance of dewy forests in 
its train, this strange man,. with the blended 
natures of the tiger and the lark — the tender 
imaginings of a young girl and the uncon- 
trolled passions of a wild beast — came here in 
1856, that he might escape the dangers of 
civilization, and here had his alternate fierce 
battles and loving make-ups with his greatest 
enemy — the bottle. He gave the place and the lakes around 
the names they now bear ; and lived here at odd times until 
the war cloud broke over the South, when his restless, ven- 
turesome nature called him to the field. Out of the war he 
came unscathed ; but the end is not yet ; whether it will be 
up through clearer paths to light, or downward with his life- 




Lumbermen. 



hi 



^2^ 



long foe, cannot be foretold, while the great curse is left to 
blacken the land. 

But the old eagle has flown, other birds of prey occupy the 
nest, and a brood of young ones gathered around, climbed 

on us, counted our buttons, 
pulled our hair, and made 
us generally welcome, and 
the way we went for the 
food set before us would 
have made ordinary birds 
of prey tremble for their 
reputation. This, the only 
house in the locality, 
affords a comfortable stop- 
ping place for sportsmen 
through the summer 
months, and for lumber- 
men during the winter. A 
gang of these hardy sons 
of toil came in while we 
were there, took their sup- 
per, and when we thought they were fairly settled for the 
night and were apparently going off in a nice snooze, those 
men of Belial got up, knocked around the furniture and stove, 
rattled pots and kettles until the rooms were full of steam 
and the air of frizzled pork and profanity, then away to the 
woods, whence with the first gray streaks of morning light, 
came the sound of their axes and the crash of falling trees. 
When river driving commences, they often stand all day long 
soaked with the ice-cold waters that come down from the 
melting snows above, and only constitutions of iron can en- 
dure what they do at times, but as a class they are careful not 
to tax their strength by any needless intellectual pursuits, 
such as poring over newspapers or books in the glare of un- 
healthy burners or any thing of the kind, and by their abstemi- 
ous habits in these respects, many are enabled to earn from 
two to three dollars per day through the season, and endure 
it for eight or ten years before they become too stiff to move. 
Eagle Lake is the middle link of the Eckford chain, very 




112 



The Adirondacks. 



pretty and about one mile long. At its east end the boat is 
pushed or towed up through a narrow channel from which 
the stones have been removed ; here the road from North 
Creek, 30 miles distant, crosses, parties sometimes entering 
the wilderness from this direction, but the condition of the 
road for half the distance is such that it is not very popular 
at present. 




BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE, 

J Or Lake Emmons, is called the 
gem of the smaller lakes, it is 
three miles in length, very ir- 
||3IP regular, especially along the 
SUgfHvt*^" west shore, and contains a 

number of picturesque islands, some of them mere rocks, ris- 
ing above the surface, while others are covered with trees of 
various kinds. It is also sometimes called Tallow Lake, be- 
cause of an old Indian who mourned a canoe load of venison 
tallow with which he once started for the distant settlement. 
Alas ! the wind blew, the treacherous waves engulfed it, and 
the noble Greasian paid Deer for his temerity. On the east 
rises Mount Emmons, commonly called Blue Mountain, from 
the color which is popularly supposed to pervade it, and enters 
into nearly every picture of this region. 
We had reached this, the head waters of the Raquette, and 



Newcomb. 113 

rested on the west beach, 35 miles as we had come and only 5 
miles from where we left Long Lake, but between it and us was 
a mountain carry of three miles, not generally liked by the 
guides. The schoolmaster decided the question of which 
route to take back by shouldering his boat and starting up 
over the mountain. The path was very good — a gradual as- 
cent for some waj^s, then a long reach of swamp and open 
meadow land where the springy surface of matted grass and 
interlaced roots, shook and bent over unknown depths of 
black muck that oozed up along the slippery stepping places 
and mingled with the snow of the week before which still re- 
mained, then we descended the north side of the mountain into 
the forest-embowered waters of South Pond, a row of 1% 
miles took us past the comfortable looking shanty of A. F. 
Tait and to the outlet, there a portage of another mile to 
Long Lake, and by boat to Kellogg's, where we astonished the 
proprietor by the earnest manner in which we devoted our- 
selves to business at the dinner-table. 

After dinner we chartered a seat in a farmer's wagon and 
went to "Aunt Polly's" to spend the Sabbath with its genial 
proprietor, John Davis, where Mrs. Davis loaded our plates 
with broiled venison, partridge, trout and other good things, 
until we were forced to cry enough, even after riding over 
that road in a lumber wagon. This old established hotel, long 
and favorably known as "Aunt Polly's," is on the main road, 
14 miles from Long Lake and 22 from Minerva ; stages pass 
twice, weekly, through the sporting season, usually stopping 
over for the night. 

A new route lately opened up and growing to be a 
popular one, is b}r boat and carry through a lovely chain of 
lakes and ponds to the " Island House," on Davis Island at 
the foot of Long Lake, 12 miles distant. 

Mount Joseph, a curious freak of nature, and one well 
worth a visit, is six miles from Davis', and presents every ap- 
pearance of being an extinct volcano, only in place of the 
yawning crater is a lovely little pond 50 rods in diameter, 
said by some to have a depth of 80 feet, while others tell of 
vain attempts to fathom its waters ; it is, indeed, a curious 
sight, a vast spring on the very summit of a mountain, 1,200 
feet above tide. 



CHAPTER XT 



" On the Tramp." 




HUS far our travels had been principally by- 
carriage of some kind or by boat. We had 
been almost around the great peaks but not 
among them. The mountains that now 
looked down on us from the north we had 
viewed from the other side ; passed around to 
the west along up Long Lake ; made a loop 
of over 40 miles in the trip to Blue Mountain 
and back, then east to Newcomb ; now, we 
must trust to our feet to carry us over the 
i route laid down, and thanks to the pure air, 
and our initiatory struggles over the various 
carries, we felt equal to the task, so on Mon- 
day morning, with knapsacks strapped on our backs, we 
started for Adirondack, the ruined village among the mount- 
ains, eighteen miles distant. 

Soon we saw an old friend, the Hudson River, on 
whose bosom floated the wealth of nations, here so narrow 
that in places we could almost jump across it. From the north 
it came, moving sluggishly along between the dark balsams 
that lined its banks and extended, an apparently unbroken 
forest, for miles back, while away over beyond rested the faint 
blue crest of Tahawas, "the cloud-splitter." Six miles from 
" Aunt Polly's," the road divides, the south branch going to 
Minerva, and the other to the lower works, 2 miles distant, 
thence east to Root's hotel, 19 miles further. 

"Tahawas," so called on the maps and in the postal depart- 
ments, is generally spoken of here as the " lower works," to 
distinguish it from the upper Adirondack village ; once there 
were extensive buildings at this place ; a long dam across the 



Dinner — Hah! 115 

Hudson, here called the North River, flooded the valley 
back to the outlet of Lake Sanford, and heavy barges floated 
between carrying provisions up and bringing ore down. Now 
the dam is gone, the old kilns are in ruins, dead trees mark 
the flat where the waters once stood, and there is, I think, but 
one family there, excepting those occupying the hotel, a large 
white house with comfortable accommodations for 20 guests, 
but aside from its interest as a hotel, is the fact that it is the 
home of John Cheney, "the mighty hunter" of the Adiron- 
dacks. 

We stopped for dinner, partially to see the old man, and 
partially because we felt a peculiar sensation stealing over 
us — an indescribable something that had attacked us 
regularly three times a day of late. In answer to our sum- 
mons, a young man appeared in the doorway, of whom we 
asked if we could have dinner. 

" I dunno," said he. After a suitable time given to silence, 
the subject was again advanced in the way of an assertion. 
" W-e w-o-u-l-d 1-i-k-e s-o-m-e dinner!" 

The smile increased in sickly strength, and it was evident 
that he sympathized with us — sympathy is good, but it won't 
sustain life. We made another effort : 

"Can we have dinner?" 

He laughed a little, said " fifty cents," then he laughed a 
little more and rested at a half smile ready to go off at the 
slightest provocation. I looked at the Professor and did not 
wonder that the young man had misgivings as to his inten- 
tions, the Professor looked at me and was not surprised that 
the pleasant youth was in doubt as to mine. Time had passed 
lightly over our heads without improving our clothing in the 
least. I tried another tack : 

" Is Mr. Cheney in ? " 

" Guess not, hah." 

"Where is he? " 

" Gone huntin', guess." 

" Mrs. Cheney? " 

A flickering smile seemed to admit that that fact could no 
longer be concealed. 

" We would like to see her." 



n6 The Adirondacks. 

" Fifty cents — dinner — hah." 

"But I want to see Mrs. Cheney." 

" Can — spose — hah." 

With a withering look at the Prof, whose dilapidated appear- 
ance had undoubtedly brought us into such a plight, I started 
on a tour of discovery and found Mrs. Cheney flying around, 
preparing a dinner for us, having evidently seen us coming 
and concluded, by our looks, that we needed something — which 
we soon had, and while enjoying it, she, in a pleasant, cheery 
sort of way, talked about her absent husband. 

He was born in New Hampshire, June 26, 1800, living there 
and at Ticonderoga until 30 years of age, when finding that 
game was growing scarce, he shouldered his rifle, and calling 
his faithful dog, set out for the then almost unknown wilder- 
ness. For years he lived alone on what his gun brought him, 
and ever since, his life has been that of the hunter. Many 
stories are told indicating his coolness in times of danger, his 
skill and daring as a hunter, and an account of his perilous 
adventures would fill a large volume. Headly, the historian, 
saw him when he first visited this region thirty years ago, and 
speaks of him as having " none of the roughness of the hun- 
ter, but as one of the mildest, most unassuming, pleasant men 
to be met with anywhere." Mrs. Cheney said he had gone 
hunting with some of "the boys," "for" she continued, with 
a flash of pride, in her sense of ownership, " if he is 73 years 
old, he can run in the woods now and beat most any of 'em 
when he feels like it ; if you could see him and he happens to 
feel all right, you could find out a good deal, but he's awful 
changeable, either awful good or awful bad." We did not see 
him, but in reply to a letter, received the following in a firm, 
readable hand : 

* * * << i' ve always had a great love for the woods and a 
hunter's life ever since I could carry a gun, and have had a 
great many narrow escapes from being torn to pieces by 
bears, panthers, wolves and moose, and many a time I have 
had to put a tree between myself and an enraged bull moose. 
After a while, finding a rifle unhandy to carry, I had a pistol 
made expressly for my use. The stock was made out of a 
birch root, the barrel was eleven inches long and carried a 




LAKE SANFORD. 



John Cheney. 



117 




half ounce ball, and is now on exhibition at the Geological 
rooms at Albany. I received one hundred dollars for it after 

it was pretty nearly worn out. 
Once I was rowing after a large 
buck deer, when it was acci- 
dently discharged, the ball 
striking me about half way 
between my knee and ankle, 
came out on the other side 
just below my ankle joint, but 
being 14 miles from any habi- 
tation and alone, I only stopped 
long enough to see what harm 
it had done, then seized my 
oars and started for him again 
as the thought struck me, I 
may need that deer now more 
than ever. I caught up with 
him and made short work of it, took him ashore, dressed 
and hung him up, but I soon perceived that if I ever got out 
of the woods I must lose no time, as my boot was full of blood 
and my ankle began to pain me very bad, so I cut two crotched 
sticks, and by their help managed to get out of the woods, but 
it took me about eight hours ; I only stopped to set down 
once, it was so hard to start again. 

I could tell you lots of my adventures if I could see you, 
but find I must stop writing as it would take all the paper in 
the house to write one quarter of them." 

Accompanying this was a photograph of the old hunter — 
a venerable looking face set in a framework of silvery hair 
and beard — bearing a kindly look over all, even though the 
eye had a severe expression — caused undoubtedly of that 
blawsted photographer who is continually stirring a body up 
by sprightly commands to "look pleasant." 

From the lower to the upper works it is ten miles over a 
passable road running north along the west side of the valley; 
Halfway up, the foot of Lake Sanford is reached, where boats 
can be taken if desired, although the best way, if not desirous 
of fishing, is to continue along the road. The lake is four 



n8 The Adirondacks. 

miles long, the shores low and marshy, looking more like a 
broad river than a lake, as it rests between the hills on the 
west, and North river mountain on the east. 

Just above the head of Lake Sanford is the " new forge," 
the huge building itself in a dilapidated condition, but the 
great stone furnace, forty feet square at its base, stands firm 
and solid as when made ; a few rods beyond this is the ruined 
village, where a scence of utter desolation met our view. 




ADIRONDACK. 



Nearly a quarter of a century has passed away since the 
busy hum of industry sounded here ; where once was heard 
the crash of machinery and the joyous shouts of children at 
play, is now the shrill bark of the fox or the whir of the 
startled partridge ; in place of the music of voices, all was 
silence, solemn and ghostly. Over the mountains and the 
middle ground hung a dark funereal pall of cloud across 
which the setting sun cast bars of ashen light; they fell on 
the nearer buildings bringing out their unseemly scars in 
ghastly relief and lay in strips across the grass grown street 
which led away into the shadow. On either side once stood 
neat cottages and pleasant homes, now stained and blackened 
by time; broken windows, doors unhinged, falling roofs, rot- 
ting sills and crumbling foundations, pointed to the ruin that 
must surely come. At the head of the street was the old fur- 
nace, a part of one chimney still standing, and another shat- 
tered by the thunder bolt lay in ruins at its feet. The water- 
wheel — emblem of departed power — lay motionless, save as 
piece by piece it fell away. Huge blocks of iron, piles of 



Adirondack. 119 

rusty ore, coal bursting from the crumbling kilns, great shafts 
broken and bent, rotting timbers, stones and rubbish lay in 
one common grave, over which loving nature had thrown a 
shroud of creeping vines. 

Near the centre of the village was a large house said at one 
time to have accommodated one hundred boarders, now grim 
and silent; near by at the left stood the pretty school house ; 
the steps, worn by many little feet, had rotted and fallen, 
the windows were almost paneless, the walls cracked and rent 
asunder where the foundation had dropped away, and the 
doors yawned wide, seeming to say not "welcome " but " go." 

" O'er all there hung a shadow and a fear, 
A sense of mystery the spirit daunted, 
And said as plain as whisper in the ear, 
The place is haunted." 

As we advanced a dog appeared at the side of the house and 
howled dismally, then, as if frightened at the sound of its own 
voice, slunk away again out of sight. We knocked at the 
door, but no sound save a hollow echo greeted us from within ; 
that was also deserted. Then we went out in the middle of 
the street where, suspended in a tree, hung the bell that used 
to call the men to work, and on the Sabbath, perhaps the vil- 
lagers to worship in the little school-house near by. Clear 
and sweet, pure and fearless, its tones rang out over the for- 
ests, away to the mountains, then back to us dying out in 
soft echoes, and with it went the cloud that had oppressed our 
spirits. 

Once more we knocked at the door of the large house, 
invited ourselves to enter, and, passing through the sounding 
hall, made our way to the back portion of the house, which 
bore signs of having been recently occupied, foraged around 
until we discovered that there was no danger of immediate 
starvation, then built up a fire and set about preparing our 
evening meal. 

Just then voices sounded outside — the door opened and a 
lady stepped lightly inside. Was it a phantom form such as 
Murray saw ? Apparantly not, for her garments were more 
sensible and better adapted to life in the woods ; she did not 



120 The Adirondacks. 

appear surprised in the least to see us there, and, as she did 
not seem inclined to apologize for intruding, we concluded that 
it was our place to do so, and began, but were stopped by the 
remark that we did right, the door was never locked. 

Soon Mr. Moore came in ; a general introduction followed 
and we were made welcome in true backwoods style "to such 
fare as they had," which, as it consisted of delicate steaming 
biscuits, the sweetest of butter, fragrant tea and other 
"fixins,"was good enough for a king — and it is altogether 
likely that if the king had been there the independent Califor- 
nian would not have considered it worth his while to offer 
him anything better than he did us. 

That night we listened to stories of hunting and trapping, 
of mountain trails and forest paths, wonderful stories about the 
chasm of the Opalescent, the wildest gorge in the country, 
where for two miles the river foams and thunders over succes- 
sive falls, one fully seventy feet in height, through rifts in the 
solid rock, five hundred feet in depth and scarcely eight feet 
across at the top ; of a line of traps sixteen miles long, which the 
little woman who welcomed us should tend, making her rounds 
on snow-shoes, when the time for them came, alone ; think of 
that ye city weaklings as you take your airings on soft cush- 
ions, and then wonder if a life among the mountains is bene- 
ficial. When Mrs. Moore came to the woods she was brought 
in by her husband an invalid ; now, with him, she roams 
through the forest and mountains, goes hunting, fishing and 
guiding, when there are ladies to accompany the parties. 

" We came here to hunt and fish, wife and I, anc'; the less 
people come the better it will please us," said John Moore, 
as we were leaving in the morning, " but if people will come, 
we will try and take care of them in the proper season ; it is 
past that now, so you can put up your money, I don't want 
it." Then we left the couple who cared for no society, save 
their own and the wild, free forests, with a friendly feeling in 
our hearts and the major part of two chickens in our knap- 
sack — we needed them before we got through Indian Pass. 

The old village is in the midst of wild and picturesque 
scenery ; just a little way north is Lake Henderson ; from the 
head of this a trail leads to the Preston pond, the head of 



Adirondack. 121 

Cold river ; Lake Harkness is one mile distant ; Lake Andrews, 
specially noted for its quantities of trout, two. Toward the 
northeast to Calamity pond, it is four miles ; to Lake Colden, 
six ; Avalanche lake, seven and a half; to the summit of Mt. 
Marcy, twelve miles. 

The history of the place is brief and sad. In 1826, Messrs. 
Henderson, McMartin and Mclntire had iron works at North 
Elba. One day an Indian showed them a piece of ore of 
remarkable purity, which he said came from a place where 
"water run over dam, me find plenty all same." 

The services of the Indian were secured at once, at the rate 
of two shillings and what tobacco he could use per day, to 
conduct them to the place spoken of. Equipped for a long 
tramp they started, and on the second day arrived at the site 
of the present village, where they found, as the Indian had 
said, where the water literally poured over an iron dam. Has- 
tening to Albany, a large tract of land, embracing the princi- 
pal ore beds in that vicinity, was secured, forges, etc., built, 
operations commenced, and a road cut from the lower works 
to Lake Champlain. Mr. Henderson always had a nervous 
terror of fire-arms, and on the day of his death his pistol was 
in the pack carried by his Guide, who laid it down to 
perform service required of him. Thinking that it had fallen 
in a damp place, Mr. Henderson picked it up and dropped it 
on a rock near by ; with the motion came a sharp report from 
the pistol, the hammer of which had probably struck the rock 
in falling. Mr. Henderson fell to the ground, saying " I'm 
shot," and soon breathed his last. The hunter Cheney was with 
him at the time, and tells a pitiful story of the grief of the 
little son, who was also along. The body was borne out on 
the shoulders of workmen, and afterward a beautiful monu- 
ment placed where he fell, bearing the inscription: "Erected 
by filial affection to the memory of our dear father, David 
Henderson, who accidentally lost his life on this spot by the 
premature discharge of a pistol, 3d Sept., 1845." The place 
has since been called Calamity Pond. 

The whole enterprise had been financially a failure. In the 
death of Mr. Henderson the motive power was removed, and 
it was allowed to run down, work gradually ceased, and 
II 



122 The Adirond&cks. 

three years after his death the upper works were abandoned ; 
the lower ones were soon after left, and at last all that remained 
of the noisy village was an old Scotchman and family, who 
took care of the property and took in strangers that chanced 
to come that way, myself among the number. 

Well do I remember the night when they sent us to sleep 
in one of the deserted houses having the reputation of being 
haunted. We did imagine that we heard curious sounds during 
the night, but whether uneasy spirits or some poor dog that we 
had robbed of his nest we could not tell. We quieted our 
fears and consciences, however, with the reflection that if it 
was a ghost, it would never think of looking for human beings 
in that bed, and if a dog, he certainly hadn't lost any thing 
worth mentioning in the operation. 

Lake Colden is two miles from Calamity Pond, and six 
from the village. Here the Marcy trail should be left and 
time given to one of the wildest water views in the mountains, 
which is reached by a rough trail of two miles toward the 
north. 

Avalanche Lake is high up among the mountains, 2,846 
feet above tide, its waters like ice and its walls of black rock 
rnnning down deep under and up perpendicularly hundreds 
of feet on either side. It is half a mile in length, and but a 
few rods wide. Between it and Lake Colden are two immense 
slides that descended the mountain long before the place was 
known, and are now covered with a heavy growth of timber, 
supposed by some to have caused the little lake by imprison- 
ing its waters in the narrow defile. 

In 1867 an avalanche of loose rocks and earth swept down- 
ward from the summit, and carrying everything before it 
plunged into the sleeping lake below, nearly dividing it in two. 
This, the latest of any note, can be followed up to near the 
summit, but cannot be left without the aid of ladder or ropes. 
Where it started it is but eight or ten feet broad and as many 
deep, but increasing in volume as it dscended, it tore its way 
through the soft rock until, at the bottom, the track is 75 feet 
wide and 40 or 50 deep. 

Here in 1868 occurred a pleasant little episode in which 
" Bill Nye took a hand," which we wish to remark is not the 




William B. Nye. 123 

Bill Nye who had that little affair with an innocent celestial, 
but William B. Nye, a noted guide and hunter of North Elba. 

" Bill," as he is familiarly 
called, is one of those iron- 
moulded men just turned fifty 
nearly six feet in height, pow- 
erfully built, knowing no dan- 
ger or fatigue, and well versed 
in woodcraft. Silent, morose 
even if you in any way gain 
his dislike by a display of 
supposed superiority, (and by 
the way, he is but a type of 

'svffll, /{J cS/&£~>^^ the old time guides who, as a 

class, are modest, unassuming 
and withal, as noble a set of men as walks the earth — who 
have learned their own insignificance among the grand things 
of nature and silence in her solitude; who know what is be- 
coming in man, and the upstart who presumes too much on 
his position as employer, expecting fawning servility, had 
better go back to civilization for all the extra comfort he can 
get out of a sojourn in the woods.) If he likes you he cannot 
do too much for you, always ready and willing, and around 
the camp fire his tongue once loosed, the stories of wild wood 
life told in his quiet quaint style is full of interest — and a 
sure cure for the blues. 

" Come Bill — how about that adventure of yours at Aval- 
anche Lake ? " said one of the party gathered around the 
blazing fire. We all had heard of it, but wanted the facts 
from the principal actor. 

" What adventure ? " said Nye. 

" Oh, come, you know what one we mean ; go ahead." So, 
after considerable innocent beating about the bush to ascer- 
tain the one meant, although it was perfectly evident that he 
knew all the time, Nye told his story: 

" Well, boys — some of you may remember a party of three 
— Mr. and Mrs. Fielding and their neice, from somewhere or 
other on the Hudson, that I went guiding for in 1868. Mr. 
Fielding, was rather a little man, one of those quick 



124 The Adirondacks. 

motioned, impulsive sort, who makeup their minds quick and 
is liable to change it in five minutes afterward, but a very- 
generous gentleman withal ; his wife was taller and heavier 
than he, would look things carefully over before she expressed 
an opinion, and when she made up her mind to do a thing she 
did it; the neice — Dolly they called her — was about sev- 
enteen years old, a splendid girl, handsome as a picture, and 
she knew it too, all very sociable and willing to talk with 
any one ; and I tell you boys, when I look at such a girl I 
sometimes feel as though may be I have made a mistake in 
living alone so long, but I'm too old a dog now to think of 
learning new tricks, so we will go on." 

''Well, our trip was to be from Nash's through Indian Pass 
to the iron works, then on to Mount Marcy and back by way 
of Avalanche Pass. We got rather a late start trom Nash's, 
and all the boarders told Mrs. Fielding she could not go 
through that day. She says ' you'll see I shall, if the guide 
will show me the way.' She did go through, though she 
traveled the last three or four miles by torch-light. I tried to 
have her let me build a little camp and stay till day light, she 
said ' No ; you know what they said when we started, if you 
can find the way I am going through.' I told her I could find 
the way if it was darker than a stack of black cats ; she says, 
'lead on, I will follow.' The last mile she carried her shoes 
in her hand, but she beat, and that was enough. The next 
day we went to Lake Colden and camped ; the next to Mount 
Marcy and back to Colden camp again. 

The following day we started to go through Avalanche Pass 
to North Elba — you will remember the walls, hundreds of 
feet high on either side, that you can neither get over nor 
around without going around the mountain, well, along one 
side is a shelf from two to four feet wide and as many under 
water, and when we got there they wondered how we were 
to get past. I said I could carry them or I could build a raft, 
but to build a raft would take too much time while I could 
carry them past in a few minutes. Provisions were getting 
short and time set to be at North Elba, so Mr. Fielding 
says, " Well, Matilda, what say you ? Will you be 
carried over, or shall we make a raft?" Mrs. Field- 



i i 



Hitch up, Matilda!" 125 



ing says: 'If Mr. Nye can do it, and thinks it safe, I will 
be carried over, to save time.' ' Well, Dolly, what do you say ? ' 
' Oh, if Mr. Nye can carry aunt over he can me, of course ; 1 
think it would be a novelty.' Mr. Fielding says: 'Well, we 
have concluded to be carried over, if you can do it safely.' I 
said " perfectly safe ; I have carried a man across that weighed 
1 80 pounds, and a nervous old fellow, at that.' I waded across 
and back to see if there had been any change in the bottom 
since I was there before. When in the deepest place the 
water is nearly up to my arms for a step or two ; I had nothing 
with me then. When I got back Mrs. Fielding said she did 
not see how I was going to carry them across and keep them 
out of the water. I said ' I will show you ; who is going to 
ride first?' Mr. F. said 'it was politeness to see the ladies 
safe first ; so Matilda must make the first trip ; ' she would * let 
the politeness go, and would like to see Mr. F. go over first,' 
but he said ' she had agreed to ride if I said it was safe ; now 
he wanted to see her do it;' ' and so I will!' said she; 'how 
am I to do it?' I set down with my back against a rock that 
came nearly to the top of my shoulders, told her to step on 
the rock, put one foot over one side of my neck, the other 
over the other side, and sit down. That was what she did not 
feel inclined to do, and was going to climb on with both feet 
on one side, but her husband told her to 'throw away her del- 
icacy, and do as I told her,' reminding her of her word, which 
was enough ; she finally sat down very carefully, so far down 
on my back that I could not carry her, I told her it wouldn't 
do, and at last she got on and I waded in. 

" ' Hurrah ! there they go ! ' ' Cling tight, Matilda ! ' shouted 
the young lady and the husband in the same breath. 'Hold 
your horse, aunt ! ' laughed Dolly. ' Your reputation as a 
rider is at stake; three cheers for aunt Mazeppa ! — I mean 
aunt Matty ; novel, isn't it ? Unique and pleasing ; you beat 
Rarey, auntie, that's what you do ! ' 

" I had just barely got into the deep water, steadying myself 
with one hand against the rocks and holding on to her feet 
with the other, when, in spite of all I could do, she managed 
to work half way down my back. 

" ' Hitch up, Matilda ! hitch up, Matilda ! why don't you hitch 



126 



The Adirondacks. 



up ? ' screamed Mr. Fielding, and I could hear him dancing 
around among the rocks and stones, while I thought Dolly 
would have died laughing, and the more he yelled ' hitch up,' 
the more she hitched down, and I began to think I would have 
to change ends, or she would get wet ; but by leaning way 
over forward, I managed to get her across safe and dry. Then 
'how was she to get off?' I said, ' I will show you.' So I 




HITCH UP, MATILDA 

bent down until her feet touched the ground, and she just 
walked off over my head, the two on the other side laughing 
and shouting all the time. 

Then came Dolly's turn ; I told her that she must sit straight 
as a major general ; she said she would — she'd let them see 
that all the money spent at riding schools hadn't been thrown 
away in her case. Wondered if any poet would immortalize 



Lake Henderson. 



127 



her as they had Phil. Sheridan ; then with some kind of a 
conundrum about Balaam (I never thought much of conun- 
drums anyway) she got on and I took her over and unloaded 
her the same as I did her aunt. The rest was easy enough, 
rather more in my line too, and we got back all right. Of 
course I did no more than my duty at the time, but you can 
bet I kept pretty still about it for some time, until at last it 
leaked out; but there is one thing I would say, the ladies 
never told of the adventure or made the slightest allusion 
to it in public as some would, in my presence at least, and for 
thus showing so much regard for the feelings of a bashful 
man and a bachelor I shall be grateful to them to my dying 
day." 

Lake Henderson is about two miles long ; its outlet near 
the centre on the east, about half a mile north of the old 
iron works ; through this break we see the high peak of 
Colden, and the track of the Avalanche from summit to base 
gleaming like snow in the sunlight ; the beauty of the shore 
is somewhat impaired by dead trees that line them, but it is 
withal a beautiful sheet of water. Mountains stoop down to 

it on all sides, 
on the west is 
seen Sandanona, 
Henderson and 
Panther Moun- 
tain — its base 
laved by the deep 
waters ; while on the north we can look up a gradual slope 
through grand old Indian Pass, with the dark green sides of 
Mclntyre on the right and mighty Wall Face on the left, ris- 
ing almost perpendicularly over 1,300 feet from the trail below. 
Pulling to the head of the lake in a boat, of which there are 
several as safe as the one Noah built, we took to the woods 
accompanied by a brother of Mrs. Moore's, who kindly offered 
to start us on our way, and followed up along the east side of 
the rapid stream that came from the notch above. 




CHAPTER XII 




Indian Pass. 

HAD expected to find a level, fertile, grove-like 
way through which we could walk with little 
exertion in the shadow of great rocks on either 
side, but how different the reality ; for three 
miles the rise was gradual, then we began to 
climb, crossing the rivulet back and forth as we 
went upward, at times making long detours to 
the right and ascending the mountain some 
distance, then a level stretch along its sides until 
the wildly dashing torrent was reached once 
more ; then onward, upward, the path growing 
wilder and more difficult, the brooklet bounding from rock 
to rock, then lost in some dark cavern, anon trickling down 
among the huge boulders, gurgling in muffled music beneath 
our feet, then bursting out to rest a moment in some mossy 
basin, pure crystal in an emerald setting on which floated 
fairy ships of Autumn leaves, then onward in its long jour- 
ney to the sea. 

We had caught occasional glimpses through the trees of — 
was it a cloud or solid rock that rested off toward the left, we 
could hardly tell until we traced its outline against the sky, for 
Indian summer had hung her mantle of haze over the great cliff 
and it seemed but a shade or two deeper than the blue above. At 
last, through an opening it came out ; vast, grand, overwhelm- 
ing, immeasurable. The eye saw it hanging in mid-air, a cloud, 
an outline, a color ; tender, sweet, luminous. The soul felt and 
bowed beneath its awful weight. The giant pines that fringed 
its brow seemed bristling hair, the great rifts and seams a 
faint tracery that scarred its sides. Motionless, it still seemed 
to be sweeping grandly away as clouds shot upward from be- 
hind and passed over to the east, then approaching, and re- 




INDIAN PASS. 



Indian Pass. 129 

treating, as cool gray shadows and yellow sunlight raced 
swiftly across or lay in slant bars along down its misty face. 

But the highest point was not reached yet ; we were just 
entering at the lower gate, and for nearly a mile it was a con- 
tinuous climb over great chaotic masses of jagged rock, 
thrown there by some convulsion of Nature, now on a huge 
fragment that seems ready to topple over into the gulf below, 
now under a projecting shelf that would shelter a large com- 
pany, now between others from which hang dripping mosses 
and sprawling roots, stooping, crawling, clinging to projecting 
limbs, climbing slippery ledges, upward all the time. 

The trees that had found lodgment on the top of the rocks 
seemed to reach out thirstily for something more than they 
found in their first bed ; one that we noticed had taken root 
on the top of a huge boulder, and sent down a mass of inter- 
woven roots twenty feet to the damp earth beneath. 

At last we near the summit and stand on Lookout Point ; 
close by rises that grand wall a thousand feet up, and extend- 
ing three hundred feet below us, reaching out north and 
south, majestic, solemn and oppressive in its nearness ; a long 
line of great fragments have fallen, year by year, from the 
cliff above and now lie at its foot ; around on every side 
huge caverns yawn and mighty rocks rear their heads where 
He who rules the earthquake cast them centuries ago. Along 
back, down the gorge we look, to where five miles away and 
1,300 feet below us is Lake Henderson, a shining drop in the 
bottom of a great emerald bowl. 

Slowly the sun swung around toward the west, the shadow 
of the great wall crept down into the valley across the gray 
rocks, and over toward the mossy ones that had lain there 
unnumbered centuries ; gradually the sweet tinkling, gurgling 
music of the infant Hudson died away and solitude reigned. 
Then as we passed onward a familiar sound came once more, 
faintly at first, then more distinctly, the singing of little 
waters ; first trickling over rocks, then dancing downward, 
increased in volume by tributary streams from the slopes of 
Mclntyre — rocked in the same mountain cradle, twin brothers 
and equal at their birth — the mighty Hudson rolling south- 
ward, and the impetuous Ausable dancing away toward the 



i3o 



The Adirondacks. 



north. Down the rocky bed of the stream we went until we 
had left the pass behind, through the thick pines and hemlock 
out into hard timber land, our only guide the blazed trees, for 
the leaves covered the ground like a thick carpet, often hid- 
ing the slight trail. Over the foot hills of the mountain on 
the west, often misled by seeming paths until the absence of 
scars on the trees warned us to retrace our steps and gather 
up the missing thread. On and on, until it seemed that the 
eighteen or twenty miles we «had expected to travel before 
seeing a familiar landmark had lengthened out into twice that 
number ; then in the gathering twilight we emerged from the 
woods in sight of North Elba, forded the Ausable — grown to 
be quite a river since we had left it away back toward its 
head — and up to Blin's, with a sound as though a whole 
colony of bull-frogs were having a concert in each boot. 

Does it pay to go through Indian Pass ? I answer a thou- 
sand times yes. It costs a little extra exertion, but the 
experiences and emotions of the day come back in a flood ot 
happy recollections, and the soul is lifted a little higher and 
made better by a visit to that grand old mountain ruin. 




Mount Colden 



McI.ntire. 
[South from Blinn's. ] 



Indian Pass. 



Scott's, a mile east of North Elba, is an old stand well known 
to the traveling public. It is advertised as a good point to 
start from for Indian Pass and other points of interest. We 
took dinner there and came to the conclusion that it was a 
good place to start from. That afternoon we went east, ten 
miles, to Keene, thence south, to the Flats, but as they are 
usually entered by way of Elizabethtown, we will, if you 
please, glance at that route. 



r~\ 




CHAPTER XIII. 

Pleasant Valley. 



'EAVING the steamer at Westport, an enjoy- 
able stage ride of eight miles takes us through 
a notch and out where we can look down in 
that lovely mountain-guarded retreat known as 
Pleasant Valley, scarcely less beautiful than its 
twin sister Keene Flats over across the grand 
ridges to the west, save that the mountains do 
not crowd against it quite as closely and look 
down on it from less giddy heights ; like the 
other it is a favorite resort for the artist, 
the quiet lover of Nature, and ladies, whose 
protectors, made of sterner stuff, are away in the mountains 
and lakes of the west. 

Elizabethtown, the picturesque little village at our feet, 
is the county seat of Essex, contains a population of fifteen 
hundred; three churches — Methodist, Baptist and Congrega- 
tional — four or five stores, three hotels, county offices, court- 
house, jail and an unlimited number of lawyers. One would 
hardly imagine it, lying so peacefully in the valley below, but 
such is the fact. It has produced some of the brightest legal 
lights of the age, and is at present the home of a number ot 
prominent men, among them Congressman Hale, Judge A. C. 
Hand and others ; it is also the old home of Hon. Orlando 
Kellogg, vvho was returned to Congress by a grateful con- 
stituency term after term, until the day of his death — an hon- 
est politician and a noble man. 

The village is very quiet and orderly, is peculiarly an Ameri- 
can town, with no foreign population, and no mills or forges 
to fill the streams with sawdust, your clothes with soot, or 
your eyes with cinders. 



132 The Adirondacks. 

Of hotels, the Valley House, in the business portion of the 
village, is spoken highly of, and will provide for from forty 
to fifty guests. 

The Mansion House, Simonds & Kellogg, proprietors, is 
designed more especially for summer boarders. It is situ- 
ated on the upper level at the southern edge of the village, a 
large white three-story building, with a verandah running on 
three sides, ceilings high, rooms large and well furnished, and 
will, with the two cottages connected with it, accommodate 
two hundred guests. See page 172. 

Mr. Simonds is a veteran hotel man, with an experience 
here of over a quarter of a century. Until quite recently he 
kept the Valle)^ House, then feeling that a wider field was 
opened by the crowds of city people who began to flock to 
Pleasant Valley, he, with Mr. O. Kellogg, opened the present 
fine hotel, which has become a very popular summer stopping 
place. 

Cobble Hill, a little way toward the south-west, is a bold 
craggy mountain front, rising like a huge pyramid apparently 
right up out of the plane at the end of the road. "Old Hur- 
ricane " is the highest peak near by; a sharp cone on which 
the sun seems to hang as it bids the valley good night. A 
wagon road leads to its base five miles distant, from which 
by a sharp climb of two miles the summit is reached, giving 
one of the finest high views to be obtained in the Adiron- 
dacks, said to some to be second only to that of Whiteface. 

Toward the south the mountains approach each other, 
growing rough and precipitous as the level interval narrows 
down, at places breaking off suddenly in perpendicular walls 
a hundred feet in height, at others, rounding over in great, 
nobby, boulder-like masses to the level that flows along their 
base almost as evenly as though it were water instead of the 
fertile bed of a valley. 

Eight miles from Elizabethtown is Split Rock Falls, where 
the water comes sparkling and foaming down through agorge 
and over the rocks, descending about a hundred feet, then 
takes its quiet way along toward the north. 

Euba Dam is, or rather was, the name of a Jittle place two 
miles further, but as its use had a tendency to familiarize the 



Pleasant Valley. 



i33 



youth of the land to incipient profanity it was changed to 
Euba Mills. 

Six miles, over a rather road, is Deadwater, appropriatel)- 
enough named, for the few weather-stained buildings are al- 
most worthless. North Hudson is four to five miles farther, 
and Root's famous old hotel-stand, two miles beyond that. 
From Root's to Schroon Lake is about nine miles. North of 
Elizabethtown the road runs through close under the frown- 
ing ledge of Poke-o '-Moonshine, and out across the plain to 
Keeseville, twenty-two miles distant. To the west it winds 
up over the mountain pass between Old Hurricane and the 
Giant, through a wonderfully picturesque drive to Keene, 
eleven miles, westward, by the lovely Edmonds' ponds, at 
the base of Pitchoff Mountain, out across the plains of North 
Elba, with its grand panorama of mountains at the south — to 
Lake Placid and the Saranac, making undoubtedly the near- 
est and most picturesque route to the lakes to be found in 
any direction. 




A FOGGY MORNING IN CAMP. 

11 Where did we put them ? " 



12 




CHAPTER XIV. 

Keene Flats. 

'EENE FLATS undoubtedly possesses the 
loveliest combination of quiet valley and 
wild mountain scenery in the Adirondack^, 
if not indeed on the continent. Through it, 
from the south, come the sparkling waters 
of the Ausable, here flowing quietly along 
beneath overhanging maples and gracefully 
swaying elms, there rippling over glistening 
white sand ; now murmuring through pleas- 
ant meadow-land, anon dancing away among 
the stones ; then dashing down rocky race- 
ways to where, among the spray and foam of the cataract, it 
thunders and rumbles and roars as if angry with its prison 
walls ; then onward between the dark overhanging ledges 
outward through the northern portals and away to join its 
sister from the great Indian Pass above. 

A little way south of the falls the road from Elizabethtown 
comes in on the east, south of this we follow up the stream 
that winds quietly along through the Flats from its head six 
miles above. Soon some of the beauties that have lent such 
a charm to this locality begin to appear ; we see sweet, restful 
shady, groves of water maples, great massy drooping elms, 
clumps of alders fringing the river brink, great canopies of 
native grape-vines clasping the huge rocks in loving embrace 
or festooned on the sturdy trees through which open up 
long vistas of meadow-land, a back-ground of mountain 
green, and above all, summits of glittering granite. 

On every side they shut us in, rising right up out of the 
Flat instead of the gradual curve of a mountain from the 
plain, showing that the bottom of the lovely valley is but 
the accumulated deposit of long ages, where the floods swept 



Keene Flats. 135 

down from the mountains and left their sediment in the notch 
below. 

Through the gradually raising break in the mountains 
toward the west, Mount Marcy looks over into the valley, 
and there near its summit is the head of John's Brook, which 
joins the Ausable where we stand. On the east, among the 
group that surround the giant another brook rises, and the 
water foaming down the sharp descent plunges over Phelp's 
Falls and joins the river a little below. 

T. S. Perkins, it is said, was the first artist to find his way in. 
Coming in 1857 and when he went out it was with sketches 
of surprisingly lovely scenery found in a spot hitherto un- 
known among his fellows. The following year brought others, 
and soon, through their paintings, the world learned of this 
quiet little nook, and the appreciative lovers of nature found 
their way there. Now, there are a number of wealthy people 
owning summer places, and during the season almost every 
farm-house is full to overflowing. 

The Tahawus House is the largest in Keene Flats; a 
roomy comfortable looking structure, with a broad two story 
piazza, and has accommodations for about forty visitors. Its 
proprietor, N. M. Dibble, seems to have learned the secret of 
success in that line, and has made his place very attractive in 
its clean, well ordered appearance; it is very much liked by 
former guests ; teams are furnished for the pleasant drives 
north and south, and to meet parties at Westport when de- 
sired. (See page 173.) 

From this central position the outlook is very beautiful, 
taking in the grand mountains as you swing slowly around, 
and the lovely river moving onward toward the north. Along 
the west side is a level table land extending almost the entire 
length of the valley, beyond this is one of the Ausable or 
long pond group, locally known as the west mountain ; on 
the east side is Baxter mountain, one thousand feet high, 
generally called the Balcony, as from its edge the entire flats 
seem to lie like a garden spread out below ; directly opposite 
our lookout point is Spread Eagle Mountain and Hopkins 
Peak still farther away. Toward the north-east is the fire 
blackened sides and sharp cone of Hurricane Peak ; ovei 



136 The Adirondacks. 

the near mountains to the south-east the giant lifts his craggy 
head, and in the south on either side, Mount Dix and the 
Ausable Mountains are piled up in broken masses against the 
sky, while in the centre is the graceful gray outline of the 
central beauty among the grand mountain sentinels — Dial 
Mountain — the " noon mark " of Keene Flats. 

The str<*ims and cascades, easily accessible from the flats, 
are too numerous to mention, too wild and varied to be de- 
scribed ; they must be seen to be appreciated, either with a 
guide or by making systematic exploring expeditions in vari- 
ous directions, where rare wonders and glorious surprises 
await the earnest lover of nature. 

E. M. Crawford, a little way north of Dibble's, has a very 
pleasant place ; the house nearly new ; newly furnished with 
especial reference to the wants of summer visitors, and will 
take care of 25 to 30 guests ; the jovial proprietor has traveled 
east somewhat, has learned eastern ways and customs, and 
may be expected to treat his company in the squarest man- 
ner possible ; like Dibble, he furnishes horses when desired, is 
considerable of a hunter himself, and as wholesouled gentle- 
manly a fellow as you often meet. Besides those mentioned 
there are others prepared for summer company. Hull's, near 
the entrance ; Washbond's, a little south of Dibble's ; still 
farther the Dr. Potter place ; then the Widow Beede's, and 
the house of Smith Beede — a noted guide — at the head of 
the Flats. 

We reached Keene from North Elba late in the afternoon, 
entered the gateway with the last rays of the sun crimsoning 
the eastern mountains, passed up along the valley in the 
golden twilight, and as night came down around us, drew up 
at the hospitable door of the Crawfords. I say " drew up," 
for at Keene we fell in with a resident of the Flats, a genial, 
cheerry old boy, whose nature is like his name, and whose age 
entitled him to hair of the same color ; he insisted on going 
considerably out of his way to be sure that we went right in 
ours, and when we bade him good night, asking how we could 
repay him, he said, " Now dont you say nothing more about 
that, mebby you can do some one else the same good turn 



" Old Mountain Phelps." 



i37 



sometime." Then he drove away back through the darkness, 
as merry as a cricket, and we went inside. 

Mr. Crawford was away on a hunting expedition. Mrs. 
Crawford was indisposed that evening. The boys, though 
willing, were weak, and the help had gone with the summer 
company, so, for a few minutes, the prospects of a hot supper 
looked dubious, but as every crisis brings to the surface some 
master of the situation, ours appeared in form of the accom- 
plished wife of an eastern artist who did the honors of the 
establishment in a mountain costume, and with a complete- 
ness that could not have been improved, joining heartily in 
the repast herself and leaving the mind of one of her guests 
at least, in a vague misty sort of wonder at the rather pleasant 
mixture of flaky biscuits, golden butter, fragrant tea, apple 
blossoms, pearls, oat meal, rosebuds corn bread, sparkling eyes 
and cheeks the very picture of health, and she came to the 
woods an invalid. Is the free pure air of the mountains and 
forests good ? Try it and see. 

Orson Schofield Phelps is what his parents named their 
baby, and "Old Mountain Phelps" is what every body calls 

him now ; but his first 
name was given 57 years 
ago, sometime before he 
had earned the last. He 
was born in the Green 
Mountain State, from 
which he came to the 
western part of Schroon 
when 14 years of age ; 
he had an enthusiastic 
love for the woods, took 
to them on every pos- 
sible occasion, and was 
a long time engaged in 
tracing out wild lot lines 
that extended far in the interior, " where in those times, deer 
and speckled trout were as plenty as mosquitoes in a damp 
day in July." He doesn't aspire to much as a hunter, but 
claims to have caught more trout than any other man in the 




OLD MOUNTAIN PHELPS. 



138 The Adirondacks. 

country. In 1844 he was with Mr. Henderson at Adirondack, 
soon after which he married and settled in Keene Flats, and 
in 1849 made his first trip to the top of Marcy, passing out 
over Haystack around the head of Panther Gorge and to the 
summit, descending near where the main trail now runs, being 
the first man to get to the top from the east ; he afterward 
cut what is now known as the Bartlett mountain trail, and 
soon guided two ladies up, which was considered quite a 
feat for them to perform and a feather in his cap, as it had 
been considered impracticable until then. He also marked 
trails to the top of Hopkins' Peak, the Giant, up John's 
Brook to Marcy, and several others ; has made a valuable 
map of the country around, is a prized and regular con- 
tributor to a local paper, and has written a voluminous 
treatise on the Adirondack lakes and mountains, trees, 
birds, beasts, etc., which shows the close observer and 
enthusiastic student of nature, and which will contain much 
valuable information when, as is promised, it is given to 
the public. 

We found him at his home near the falls that bear his name 
— a little old man, about five foot six in height — muffled up in 
an immense crop of long hair, and a beard that seemed 
to boil up out of his collar band ; grizzley as the granite 
ledges he climbs, shaggy as the rough-barked cedar, but with 
a pleasant twinkle in his eye and an elasticity to his step 
equaled by few younger men, while he delivers his communi- 
cations, his sage conclusions and whimsical oddities, in a 
cheery, cherripy, squeaky sort of tone — away up on the moun- 
tains as it were — an octave above the ordinary voice, sugges- 
tive of the warblings of an ancient chickadee. 

" So you wanted old Mountain Phelps to show you the way, 
did you ? " said he, " Well, I s'pose I kin do it. I'll be along 
as soon as the old woman'll bake me a short-cake. The wise 
man provides for an emergency, and hunger's one of 'em." 
So we returned to Crawford's for breakfast, after which, when 
the old man appeared with his little hatchet and big provision 
bag on his back, Mrs. Crawford had her nettlesome ponies 
brought around, and, with the artist's wife, carried us all up 



Roaring Brook. 139 

to the Widow Beede's, where we bade them good-bye, delighted 
and duly grateful for the breezy ride of the morning. 

At the head of the Flats the Ausable from the south-west 
and Roaring Brook from the south-east join ; between them 
is the Widow Beede's place. When we reached the sum- 
mit of the hill, back of the house, we saw a lovely view of the 
valley and the mountains on either side, stretching away for 
twenty miles toward the north and south. 

" Roaring Brook comes mostly off of that," said Phelps, 
pointing to the east where the " Giant" lifted his scarred and 
rifted head high up in air. " You see that chasm there ? That 
is the lower end of Russell Falls. There is a gorge through 
that hill near 200 feet deep, the width of the river, and nearly 
perpendicular walls on either side, a continuous ragged fall all 
the way for half a mile, at no place more than 25 feet at one 
leap, but there is a great variety in them ; when the water is 
low you can go through, but it isn't nice going at the best." 

" See that bare rock near Smith Beede's ? There are Roar- 
ing Brook Falls, the highest in the mountains ; nearly 200 
feet sheer fall at one leap, and I tell you it isn't much besides 
spray when it reaches the bottom; a mile above that — you 
see where Roaring Brook comes down the side of the Giant, 
through that dark ravine — there is Chapel Pond, just north- 
east of it is another one, nearly as large, that's called the 
"Giant's Wash Bowl," a narrow rim of rock only holds it in 
.on the lower side, which is so steep that you can stand on 
its edge and throw a stone down into Chapel Pond, eight 
hundred feet below. 

Resagonia or Sawtooth Mountain appears in the south- 
west, its curiously serrated crest gaining it the title also of 
Rooster's Comb. East of this is a round, rocky knob, known 
as Indian Head, and over this, a little further east, is a sharp 
peak called Mount Colvin, after the superintendent of the 
Adirondack survey, who is supposed to have been the first 
man on its summit. Between the two mountains that drop 
downward at an acute angle, lies the lower Ausable Pond, 
four miles distant. Toward this notch we took our way down 
a little hill into the woods and up along brawling Gill Brook, 



140 



The Adirondacks. 




MT. COLVIN. AUSABLE PASS. KESAGONIA. 



over a path that is sometimes dignified by the name of wagon- 
road, but over which but few would attempt to ride. 

" All things is possible and nothing ompossible," said Phelps, 
diving into the bushes on one side of the road, and soon re- 
appearing with a 
piece of band iron 
which he stowed 
away in his bag, 
" like as not I will 
need this to mend 
an oar or some- 
thing ; old Phelps 
is such an easy old 
critter to get along 
with, that they take 
his boat, bang it 
'round as much as 
they want to, may- 
be break an oar, and he never'll make a fuss about it; 
shouldn't wonder a bit if they had it off somewhere now." 

After what seemed a long four mile tramp through the 
woods, we came out in a little opening near the brow of a hill, 
and were just rising to look out when a fierce gust of wind 
from the other side set the old man's hat whirling back toward 
us ; we succeeded in spearing it, then as we turned and glanced 
out ahead, were surprised, almost dazzled by the wonder- 
ful beauty of the scene that flashed out so suddenly and un- 
expectedly on our astonished sight. 

Ausable Pond in all its Swiss-like beauty was before us. 
We stood at the end of our road on the brow of a hill whose 
front had apparently been undermined, and ran sharply down 
to the water's edge, gleaming, drifting, unstable sand. On the 
left, close by, was old Indian Head, the side toward us all in 
shadow : rough and jagged, standing like some grim sentinel 
to guard the narrow pass at his feet — beyond was Mount 
Colvin, the sides rising in places straight up from the water, 
then backward to the sharp ridge nearly 2,000 feet above, 
seemingly crowned with a coronet of diamonds that flashed 
ind glittered as the water trickled down over the rocks, and 



Lower Ausable Pond. 141 

reflected back the sun's bright beams. On the west was Resa- 
gonia, almost as abrupt, although trees grew from its sides 
close down to the water's edge ; between them the narrow 
Pond stretched away, its head hidden by the point on the 
right, its outlet at our feet. 

Rainbow Falls is across the outlet to the north-west, 
back in the gorge, you can see where the brook starts, away up 
on the Gothic Mountains, and trace its course down the steep 
side until it is lost at the base. We crossed the outlet and 
went up into the cleft mountain side, very like Ausable Chasm 
and probably with a like origin. It extends only a short dis- 
tance but is very beautiful, the gray sides perpendicular for 
something over a hundred feet, while huge rough boulders 
fill the bottom, and over the edge of the wall at the north is the 
Fall, a skein of amber silk that flutters along down the rocks 
until whipped and ravelled, it reaches the bottom as lightly 
as a snow-flake falls and white as clean wool, where, gather- 
ing its tiny drops together, it goes softly singing down its 
emerald-paved steps to the river below. 

We descended to the outlet, where we compelled Phelps' 
shortcake to assume an indisposed sort of expression, then 
taking a boat started up the Pond, over which the wind 
swept fiercely, picking up the crests of the racing waves and 
dashing the spray in our dripping faces, while the old man 
pulled and talked, as though getting wet was the natural and 
happy culmination of the very enjoyable trip. 

The Lower Ausable Pond is something over a mile in length, 
but a few rods wide, and in the very heart of the mountains, 
at the same time one of the lowest and easiest passes through 
them, providing always that a boat is found in which to pass 
this point, for the rocks on the east come down so straight 
into the water that it would be impossible to get past there, 
and the west shore is almost as bad, although by some rough 
climbing among the huge masses that have fallen from 
the rocks, a person may succeed in passing safely. Toward 
its head the water "shoaled" until it came above the surface, 
a strip of natural meadow, and gradually rising, was covered 
first with bushes then with a growth of heavy trees as though 
not the water alone but the soil that fills this trough of the 



142 



The Adirondacks. 



mountains was passing slowly, like some great glazier, toward 
the plain. 

From the head a walk of a mile up along the brook, brought 
us to the shores of the Upper Ausable, where Phelps ex- 
pected to find his boat. "Just as I expected," said he, finding 
matters as he had anticipated, "Old Phelps' boats belong to 
everybody but himself, well we haven't got much farther to 
go to my shanty, that's one satisfaction, and maybe they'll let 
us stay there all night, considering that it belongs to me." 
So we skirted the west shore a little way and came out at the 
shanty, where we found Crawford's party jubilant over the 
fourth deer they had taken in three days, and preparing sup- 
per to which we did full justice. 




GOTHIC MOUNTAINS. 



The Upper Ausable Pond is nearly two miles in length 
and perhaps a half mile wide, it is noted hunting ground as 
deer started in the mountains around, if not too far away, 
usually make for this water. There are two or three good log 
shanties on its shores, and a number of boats here and at the 
lower pond owned by the Keene Flat guides. 

On the east is the Boreas Mountain, a long ridge terminat- 
ing in Mount Colvin at the north, and extending south for 
ten miles. At the west is quite a high ridge called Bartlett 
Mountain, upon which the shortest trail goes to the top oi 
Mount Marcy, 5 miles distant. 



Panther Gorge. 143 

Beyond Bartlett is the Haystack, a sharp cone-like granite 
peak standing about fourth or fifth in height ; over be- 
yond it the summit of Marcy, 5,333 feet above tide ; toward 
the north and east comes Basin, Saddleback — one of the 
..win gothics — Resagonia and the notch where lies the lower 
pond, a grand circle of giants, rifted and scarred, upon whose 
sides we can mark the course of mountain torrents and the 
white glistening path of the avalanche. The shores of the 
pond are thickly wooded to the water's edge (excepting 
here and there a break where are the camping places) and 
so level toward the south for a little way, that it is said in 
times of flood a boat can be pushed over into the Boreas 
waters, whose outlet is the Hudson. 

The ascent of Marcy is oftenest made from this direction by 
leaving the upper Ausable pond near its outlet, passing up 
over Bartlett Mountain to Marcy Brook, three and a half 
miles distant ; then up toward the west or through Panther 
Gorge, but we can not do better than give the trip in the 
words of the "old man of the mountains," who stands ready 
to relieve us, so we will stand aside and give him the floor. 

Ladies and gentlemen — Mr. Phelps: 

"Well, I guess I kin show you the way, fur I've been up 
there near a hundred times, I 'spose. Let's see, we're in 
Panther Gorge now, I believe, and before we go up Marcy, 
I want to show you a sight up here from the side of Haystack 
that is worth seeing, where we can look right down into the 
gulf below. See that precipice on the Marcy side ? It is one 
continuous wall of rock a mile in length, circling around to the 
head of the gorge with Castle Column at its head ; that is one 
of the wildest places in the Adirondacks, where, after a heavy 
rain or in the spring, streams pour down it from all sides 
You see that water-course over there in the centre ? I have 
seen an almost unbroken sheet of water, six feet wide, pouring 
over that to the bottom of the gorge, almost a thousand feet 
below. Now we will pass on up the trail once more, just 
stopping to notice those shafts of rock across on the Hay- 
stack side. There are three of them, entirely detached from 
the wall near by, about ten feet square, and one of them near 
fifty feet high, with a loose cap-stone on top of it. The soft 



144 The Adirondacks. 

rock must have crumbled away between them and the main 
ledge while they were left standing. Now, out at the upper 
end and we begin to climb Marcy, striking the John's 
Brook trail that goes down to Keene Flats near its centre. 
Up here, on the side of the mountain, we find a little marsh, 
which is the head of the longest branch of the great Hudson 
River, and the largest branch of the Ausable ; but our trees 
are getting stunted and we will soon be able to see over the 
tops of them; it's about like going through a thrashing 
machine trying to get along before they are chopped out ; but 
here we are at last at the top, and you see this is the place to 
see things ; down there at Marcy Brook, where we turned to 
go through Panther Gorge, comes the other trail up this way, 
running spirally up the south side from east to west until it 
strikes the smooth rock that has been swept clean by the 
avalance ; then up that, across back and forth to its head. It 
is about as steep as the roof of a house, and when it is wet and 
slippery it's bad getting along, but when its dry it sticks to your 
boots like sand paper. In making the round trip the trail 
goes down the north side a ways to the head of the Opales- 
cent, then west through the valley and out by Lake Colden 
and Calamity Pond to the Adirondack Iron Works. 

The summit of Tahawus is comparatively level for 6 rods 
north and south, and 15 rods east and west, a few loose boul- 
ders lie about promiscuously. At the west end of this flat is a 
mass rising up some eight or ten feet that contains the high- 
est solid rock in the State of New York. Tahawus has some- 
thing of a ridge-like appearance, running north-east and 
south-west, although its whole formation is a comparatively 
round mound of rock. The upper thousand feet is bare, and 
clear the farthest down on the south-west side ; the west side 
of this mountain has more the appearance of a pasture hill- 
side than a mountain above vegetation, its partial covering of 
Alpine grasses and other plants and shrubs give it a domestic 
and agricultural appearance. The whole south side is covered 
with bristly balsam up within a few rods of the top, and is the 
steepest and longest side, sloping away \ l A miles at the rate of 
2,000 feet to the mile, to the foot of Panther Gorge. Large 
portions of the south side have been swept off by avalanches, 



Mount Marcy 145 

the east is far the roughest part of the mountain, it drops off 
the first thousand feet about its average incline among broken 
cobbles and gulches, and then takes one final leap of 1,000 
feet into Panther Gorge. The Panther Gorge trail passes up 
through this, and is the easiest grade to the summit. On 
the north side it drops down to the head of the Opalescent 
valley, more or less broken with precipices and ravines. The 
Adirondack trail passing np this side over cliffs and bluffs 
that are next to impassable. This mountain, as well as all 
others that rise above vegetation, has a belt of the stunted 
balsam. 

To the north, over a mass of wild mountain ridges, we 
see the cleared fields of North Elba, Lake Placid and the 
western slope of Whiteface, beyond that the St. Regis and 
Chateaugay woods. 

Turning slowly to the. north-east we see Table-top Moun- 
tain and the mass of mountains about it, and the extensive 
mountain range that lies between the two branches of the 
Ausable, in which is Slide Mountain, also John's Brook Valley 
and Keene Flats and Hurricane Mountain ; over beyond is the 
Broad Lake with Burlington on the eastern shore. Still turn- 
ing, we see the avalanche rent mass of the Gothic Mountains, 
the Giant, Hopkin's Peak, and over among the Green Moun- 
tains, Camel's Hump ; and, still farther, the dim outlines of 
the White Monntains. East is Haystack and Saw-teeth Moun- 
tains, the lower Ausable Pond, Mount Colvin, the Dial, 
Camel's Hump. East south-east, is the Boreas Mountain, 
Nipple-top, Mount Dix, and a host of others. South-east is 
Bartlett Mountain, upper Ausable Pond, Boreas Range, Mud 
Pond, Clear Pond, Macomb Mountain, and a mass of hills 
from that to Lake Champlain. South south-east your eyes 
follow down the deep valley of Marcy Brook to the broad 
marsh and swamp above the Ausable Pond to a full view of 
Boreas Mountain ; passing over that comes Blue Ridge and 
the nameless mass of mountains and hills about Schroon 
Lake and Lake George, of which Black Mountain is very 
prominent. South you look obliquely down Marcy Brook on 
the west side to Moose Mountain, Boreas and Wolf Pond; 
in the south-west is Skylight, Mount Allen, Cheney Cobble, 

13 



146 The Adirondack^. 

North River Mountain, still further is Blue Mountain, Ra- 
quette Lake and the John Brown Tract ; while Mount Red- 
field, Lake Sanford, Lake Delia and Mount Goodnow is west 
south-west. West, the view drops down to little Lake Per- 
kins (or summit water, 4,293 feet above tide, the true high- 
pond source ot the Hudson River), then over a broken, 
ragged mass of mountains to Mount Adams and the upper 
Adirondack iron works, Lake Henderson, Santanonia Moun- 
tain and the Owl's Head ; while a few points toward the north 
we look over Lake Colden, Calamity Pond, Preston Ponds 
Pass, Mount Henderson, Gray Mount, and over the lower 
mountains to Cranberry Lake region. North-west is Mount 
Colden, Mount Mclntyre, the Opalescent Valley and Colden 
Ridge ; beyond, old Wallface and Mount Seward, and between 
these the dark Oulusca Pass the place of shadows oi the Indian. 

In the many times and days I have been on its summit, I 
have but three times had what I call a first-class clear view, 
then I could see the outlines of two of the summits of the 
White Mountains in New Hampshire, which must be at least 
150 miles distant. It is a fair view to see the outlines of 
mountains 60 miles. I once saw the clearing up of a thunder- 
storm at sunset; there was a tornado sweeping over the top 
of the mountain and the fog-clouds, broken into patches, 
were running at lightning speed, and when one of those 
clouds would strike the mountain all would be shut in with 
fog for perhaps two or three seconds when it would open, 
giving a view to the west ot a dazzling brilliant orange-tint 
over the whole western sky. This could be enjoyed from two to 
four seconds more when the enveloping fog would come again 
to save one from going crazy, 1 suppose. The sun appears 
over the Green Mountains, in July, eight minutes before sun- 
rise by the almanac, and is in sight seventeen minutes after 
sundown. 

A thunder storm in the night is an awful sight from the 
summit of Tahawus. I once saw one at near midnight, ap- 
proaching from the west, when it was all below me, and I 
could look on the top of the cloud and see the streaks of 
lightning darting in every direction ; it appeared like a moun- 
tain of serpents writhing in every conceivable manner. When 



Camp Phelps. 



147 



it finally reached me, it appeared very natural, with the 
exception the thunder seemed very near by. There are a 
great variety of fog scenes ; I saw one of three-fourths of the 
circle about me, a level ocean of fog and the other quarter 
clear; it made me think of a big pie with one quarter taken 
out; another one was of fog driven over Skylight in a bright 
moonlight night, it pitched over the east side like a mammoth 
water-fall, which it was, not of a river but a cloud ; another 
majestic sight was the gathering and passing up of what we 
call a quick south storm ; when I first saw it, it was some forty 
miles distant, coming on at the rate of a mile in two minutes ; 
a massive cloud with the driping curtain of rain reaching 
down to the earth ; as it passed up nearer it threw out some 
of the most wonderful shades and colors ; in the centre it was 
of a clear gray ; some six to eight miles to the east and west, 
of a bright purple, growing lighter to the extremes, and to 
the east and west softening down to a sunshine hazy light ; 
it passed over to the St. Lawrence lasting near two hours. 




" STORIES." 



Camp Phelps, on the upper Ausable, is one of the most 
complete in its appointment and management of any shanty 
in the Adirondacks. The structure is of an elegant design, 
and built of magnificent logs cut and curved artistically with 
knots of various and unique patterns in bas relief. The main 
door is about 2>£ by 5 feet, swings outward, and is locked with a 



148 The Adirondacks. 

string ; it contains an immense reception room, drawing 
room, private parlor and sleeping rooms en suite, with ward- 
robes sticking out all around the sides. The grand dining 
hall is situate out on the lovely lawn, which is quite exten- 
sive, and splendidly furnished with hemlock extensions and 
stumps. This spacious structure is six by ten feet on 
the ground, and between four and five feet high, and is sur- 
mounted by a Yankee roof of troughs in two layers, the upper 
covering the crevices in the lower so as to exclude the rain, 
but separated far enough to give perfect ventilation. This 
chef d'ceuvre of architecture is first class in every respect, it 
is luxuriously upholstered throughout with spruce boughs, 
in the culinary department is a stupendous range which floods 
the drawing room with light, and, in short, it contains all the 
modern improvements, including hot and cold water, which is 
carried to every part of the establishment in pails. Here we 
gathered, Crawford's party of seven, and ours, ten in all, be- 
side two or three dogs, in a space about six by eight feet 
square, and while the fire snapped and flickered, filling the 
shanty with dancing shadows, stories of hunting and fishing 
adventures were told that all were expected to believe be- 
cause they were personal experiences, although occasionally 
one would have a familiar sort of sound with the exception 
of names and dates. Stories of personal prowess which cul- 
minated in one of a man who could pick up a two barrel iron 
kettle by the edge with his teeth, and the assertion by another 
that he knew a man who could perform the same feat sitting 
in the kettle himself when he lifted it, which was making light 
of serious subjects, and so Phelps told his bear story, how 
one day near the Boreas, he saw a big bear coming on the run 
after him and he, armed with only a little ax, then when the 
bear got within twenty feet of him he yelled " halt," which 
stopped the bear — he couldn't prevaricate, he did it with his 
little hatchet — he didn't feel scared any, only stirred up like, 
but the bear reversed ends and made off as fast as it could 
wabble. Then Uncle Harvey told all about how he killed a 
bear with a pitchfork once, and a moose with a club, after tir- 
ing him out in the deep snow. " But, by gawl, boys," said he, 
" When Dick Estus tumbled over backward on his snow shoes, 



Breakfast. 149 

and the critter gave a lunge for him, I thought it was all up 
with him, but I just gave command to the boys, and at him we 
went, and, by gawl, the way we laid it on his old hide was a 
caution, and there lay Dick, square on his back, looking up, 
thinkin' that every minute was his last, and, by gawl, I just 
managed to get a lick at the critter that fetched him just as he 
was standin' over Dick so," and the old hunter assumed a posi- 
tion, indicative of an enraged moose preparing to come down on 
an unfortunate little chap on his back in the snow, who couldn't 
turn over on account of his snow-shoes. Thus each had 
their stories to tell until time to turn in, when four of the 
party went across the pond to another camp, leaving six of us 
to occupy a space six feet long by six feet wide, and where we 
slept on edge, like a box of well-packed sardines, until day- 
light, when each man got up and cut a chunk of venison, salt 
pork or bacon as taste dictated, and each man for himself 
waltzed around that stove in the six by ten shanty until he 
had warmed it through enough to suit, or disguising pieces of 
raw material in an outside coating of bread, proceeded to 
stow it away with that appearance of keen enjoyment dis- 
played by the average boy in taking a pill ; then a part rushed 
away to put out the dogs, others to the various runways. 
The old man gave his attention to some sort of a stew, 
which, as he had made no calculations on staying out all 
night, and the camp supplies had run low in the particular 
materials needed, was partially a failure ; the professor, with 
a home-sick sort of expression on his face, was picking away 
at an ancient piece of bacon, while an enthusiastic individual 
who had wallowed in an ecstacy of imaginative bliss, theoreti- 
cally, over venison stake, broiled at the blazing camp fire, 
was engaged in preparing a savory strip of the same, which 
as he forgot to apply salt, and got hold of a piece just 
moderately warm — not cooked, at the first bite, roused a rebel- 
lious feeling within him, and he felt the full force of those 
saddest of all words, " it might have been done," but it was 
not ordained to be, and at last, as his mind kept running 
on accounts of ship-wrecked people who had to eat each 
other or starve, and cannibalism seemed imminent, one of 
the guides came in like a dove bringing — not the olive 



ISO 



The Adirondacks. 



branch exactly — but a bag of oat-meal, which he made into 
pan-cakes, and those pan-cakes went to our hearts and 
stomachs like the blissful ecstacy of love's young dream. 
We were saved, and while we ate he baked and brought 
them forward ; none of your little patty-cakes, but great big 
ones the size of the frying pan, and as light as sea foam 
almost, making, with maple sugar, a breakfast, the which 
when suggested, makes my mouth water to this day, and 
the more we ate the happier he seemed to feel about it ; thus- 
casting his bread upon the waters ; a little act of simple 
courtesy perhaps, offered without a thought of return ; but it 
showed the willing, generous disposition, and those pan-cakes 
touched a chord in the breast of one individual at least 
that will vibrate for all time, and if he is ever permitted to 
go there again he would not ask for a more willing assistant 
or, if reports be true, a better guide than Theo. White of 
Keene Flats, the author of those glorious pan-cakes. 

After breakfast Phelps took us up the inlet, with its dark 
borders of balsam and tamarack, to the Marcy trail, where, 
bidding him a regretful adieu, for we had become attached to 
the cheery old man of the mountains in our short acquaint- 
ance, we started on our tramp of sixteen miles, out through 
the woods to Root's, feeling that we were nearing friends who 
would be glad to welcome us home ; clearer in thought and 
stronger in body than when we entered ; glad to go back but 
sad at thought of leaving the mountains, over which we saw 
the storm-cloud gather, break and roll away, leaving them, 
— kissed by the loving sunshine, clean, grand, strong and 
eternal as the hand that made them. 




fttiJMticU.- Allm. SMfrfa. — Marcr- Hf>l«t>.-t«lili.-iUdH InUr tclhicMBafitjigj. 



CHAPTER XV. 




Guides. 

UIDES receive from $2.50 to $3.00 per day 
furnishing boat, with every thing usually 
required for camping purposes, and doing 
all the work, although employers are 
expected to assist with the lighter articles 
over carries. 

The following lists were furnished by 
the several gentlemen to whom credit is 
given, and supposed to contain the names 
of all actively engaged in the profession 
at the places mentioned. If, however, any 
have been omitted or mistakes made in those given, the pub- 
lishers will consider it a favor to be notified of the fact, and 
the corrections will be cheerfully made in future editions. 

It were useless attempting to give rules for selecting a guide, 
or to discriminate between those mentioned, they are, as a 
class, a noble set of men, who feel themselves the equals of 
their employer, and, to a great extent, reflect back their usage ; 
there are, of course, exceptions to the rule among guides as 
there often is among employers. If you ask only reasonable 
service there can usually be no complaint; if you expect 
fawning servility the prospects are that you will soon be with- 
out a guide, for one who knows enough for the profession 
knows when he is well used ; experience only can lead to 
a satisfactory solution of the problem; neither is this list in- 
tended to designate the particular locality to which they are 
competent to guide, as many are familiar with the entire 
wilderness, but to give their post-office address and be a refer- 
ence table to those who desire such an one. 



152 The Adirondacks. 

St. Regis Guides. 

Paul Smith gives employment to a large number during the 
season, and furnishes the following list of those who make his 
house their headquarters. Their post-office address is Bloom- 
ingdale, Essex Co., N. Y. : 

George Martin, Fred. Martin, Doug. Martin, Henry Martin, 
John McLaughlin, Frank Hobert, Moses St. Germain, Ben. 
St. Germain, Levi St. Germain, Bonum St. Germain, Nelson 
St. Germain, Fayette St. Germain, Joseph Newell, Lovel New- 
ell, Sylvester Newell, Thos. Redwood, Moses Sawyer, Emon 
Jaquish, John Hall, Lias Hall, F. Baker, Zeb. Robear, Sr., Zeb 
Robear, Jr., Ed. Robarge, Steven Turner, Sim. Forence, El- 
verdo Patterson, James Patterson, Gard. Maloney, Ben. Monty, 
Eugene White, Jacob Stayes, Ross Stayes, Ahas Staves, War- 
ren Flanders, A. C. McCollum, Oren Otis, Myron Otis, John 
Otis, Sylvester Otis, Fred. Otis, Henry Chase, Ben. Munsil, 
Henry Kent, Loney Moody, Phil. King, James Cross, Charles 
Dwight, Fred. Barnes, James Bean, A. Norton, Seth Wardner, 
John Wake, Henry Weller, M. Labrake, E. J. Noyes, Geo. Butts. 

Saranac Lake. 

William F. Martin, himself a noted hunter and guide, now 
proprietor of the Lower Saranac Lake House, furnishes the 
following : 

Stephen C. Martin, John Solomon, John Grover, Benny 
Moody, William Moody, Ed. Flagg, Geor^ge Wake, Mark 
Clough, Joseph Hanmer, Carlos Whitney, Ed. Otis, A. W. 
Duelley, R. W. Nichols, George H. Ring, John King, James 
Philbrook, Fred. Reynolds, Edward Brown, Hosea Colbath, 
Albert P. Robbins, Albert McKenzie, Charles Greeno, Sem. 
Corey, Lucius Evans, F. G. Hallock, Richard Moody, Fayette 
Moody, Marshall Brown, George Sweeney, D. S. Moody, James 
McClellan, Alric Moody, Chester McCaffrey, J. Otis, Jason 
Vosburgh, Win. E. Ring, Henry Douglass, Reuben Reynolds, 
Ransom Reynolds, George Mussing, John Benham, Henry 
Wood, Charles Greenough, John Slater, Charles Corey, 
Charles Hikock. 

Post-office address: Saranac Lake, Franklin Co., N. Y. 



Guides. 153 

Bartlett's — Clark Farmer, the Coreys, Daniels, and others 

who live near the Upper Saranac, are addressed as above. 

For the Tupper's Lake Region apply to Martin Moody — 

same address. 

Long Lake 

is noted for a number of superior guides of the kind called 
independent. C. H. Kellogg, Esq., of the Long Lake Hotel, 
has furnished the following list: 

Mitchel Sabattis, John E. Plumbley, Reuben Carey, Nelson 
Carey, Charley Blanchard, Reuben Howard, Jerome Wood, 
Jeremiah Plumley, Charles Sabattis, Isaac Sabattis, Henry 
Stanton, George B. Stanton, B. F. Emerson, Amos Robinson, 
John Robinson, William Robinson, Isaac B. C. Robinson, Att. 
Cole, Simeon Cole, Lysander Hall, Herbert Hall, John Rice, 
W. D. Jennings, C. D. Hough, George Cary, William Helms, 
David Helms, David Keller, C. R. Keller, C. B. Hammer, 
Alonzo L. Mix, David Mix, Gilbert Stanton. 

Post-office address Long Lake, Hamilton Co. 

Newcomb. 

Thanks are due to Mr. John Davis of the Halfway House 
for the following list : 

Washington Chase, Franklin Chase, Jefferson Chase, Caleb 
I. Chase, Elis C. Chase, Adelbert Parker, John F. Far, Charlie 
Far, Jr., Nelson Bissle, Charles Bissle, Joseph Bissle, Willie 
Alden, James Hall, Henry H. Snider, Ozias Bissell, Harrison 
Hall, Alonzo Wetherbee, Henry Parker, M. R. Sutton, James 
Bissell, William M. Aldin, Valorous Hall. 

Post-office address Newcomb, Essex Co., N. Y. 

David Hunter, David Cheney — Post-office address : Taha- 
wus, Essex Co. 

Adirondack Iron Works. 

John Moore — Post-office address: Tahawus, Essex Co. 

Keene Flats, Essex Co. 
(Post-office address as above.) 
O. S. Phelps, Harvey Holt, E. Phelps, Max Tredo, Levi S. 
Lamb, Munroe Holt, Smith Beede, Hiram Holt, Orlando Beede, 
Theo. White, Byron Esles, Will Tredo, Melville J. Trumbell. 



154 The Adirondacks. 

North Elba, Essex Co. 

The following guides may be engaged through either Nash 
or Brewster at Lake Placid, or by letter as above : 

Wm. B. Nye, George Billings, Peter Aldridge, Ed. Smith, 
Peter Lamoy, Edwin Kenney. 

White-Face Mountain. 
(Post-office address : Wilmington, Essex Co.) 

V. Mihills, M. F. Hays, E. D. Hays. 

If your point of operation is decided on, with which you 
are as yet unacquainted, it is best to leave the matter of pro- 
curing a guide entirely with your prospective landlord, stat- 
ing what you want, remembering that the best guides are 
usually engaged some time in advance. Some parties attempt 
occasionally to get along without regular guides by aid of 
maps, compass and books, but at the best that is very uncer- 
tain — is full of hardships that are easily avoided by those 
accustomed to the country, and if distance, comfort and time 
lost in out-of-the-way places are taken in consideration, 
attended with but little economy. 



/£& 




EXEUNT GUIDES. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Routes. 



Route No. 1. 

New York 



Miles. 

To Sing Sing 32 

West Point 51 

Poughkeepsie 75 

Rondout 90 

Catskill hi 

Albany 144 

Troy 151 

Saratoga 182 



Miles. 

To Glens Falls 204 

Whitehall 223 

Westport 278 

Port Kent 313 

Plattsburgh 328 

Rouse's Point 353 

Montreal 403 

Quebec 583 



Route No. 2. 
Albany 



To New York 144 

Troy 7 

Cohoes 9 

Junction 12 

Mechanicville 18 

Round Lake 25 

Ballston 31 

Saratoga 38 



To Fort Edward 55 

Glens Falls 60 

Fort Ann 66 

Comstock's 70 

Whitehall 77 

Lake Station 79 

Castleton 90 

Rutland 101 



Route No. 3. 
Whitehall 



To Benson 

Orwell 

Ticonderoga 
Larabee's . . . 
Crown Point 
Port Henry. 



13 

7 

4 

2 

9 
9 



13 

20 

24 
26 

35 
44 



To Westport 
Essex. . . . 



Burlington. 

Port Kent 

Plattsburgh. . . . 
Rouse's Point. 



11 
10 

15 
10 

15 
25 



55 

65 
80 

90 

105 

130 



Route No. 4. 
Rouse's Point 



To Montreal 50 

Boston . 289 

Mooers 12 

Dannemora 16 



12 
28 



To Chateaugay . , 

Malone 

Potsdam 
Ogdensburg 



17 45 

12 57 

47 94 

34 128 



i 5 6 



The Adirondacks. 



Route No. 5. 

Chateaugay 



Miles. 

To Falls i 

Lower Lake 8 

Narrows 1 1 



To Upper Lake. . . . 
Head of Lake. 



Miles. 

. 14 
• 19 



To Point of Rocks . . 

Ausable Forks . . 

Franklin Falls . . 

Bloomingdale . . . 
* Paul Smith's .... 

Martin's 

Whiteface Mt. H. 

Wilming'n Notch 

North Elba . ... 

Lake Placid .... 



Route No. 6. 

Plattsburgh 



20 

3 

17 

8 

IO 

8 

30 
6 
6 

3 



20 

23 
40 

48 

53 
56 
33 
39 

45 
48 



To Martin's 7 55 

Dannemora. .-.. 16 16 

Chazy Lake 5 21 

Upp. Chateaugay 6 27 

Lower Lake 6 33 

R. R. at Chat 'gay 8 41 

Ausable Chasm.. 12 

Montreal 74 

Boston 260 

New York 328 



Route No. 7. 

Keeseville 



To Burlington 

Plattsburgh . . . 

Port Kent 

Ausable Chasm 
Point of Rocks 
Ausable Forks . 
Franklin Falls . 
Bloomingdale . . 



14 

13 

4 

2 

9 
12 

29 
37 



To Martin's 

Paul Smith's , 

Whiteface Mountain, 
Wilmington Notch. 

North Elba 

Lake Placid 

Martin's , 

Elizabethtown , 



45 
47 
22 

28 

34 
37 
44 
22 



Route No. 8. 
"ROUND TRIP." 



To head Saranac L., 6 

By River 3 

Across Round Lake, 2>£ 

To Bartlett's y 2 

Head Upper Lake . . 8 
Carriage 3 



Martin's 



9 

12 
20 

23 



Over Big Clear Pond 2 25 

Portage 1 % 26%, 

Upper St. Regis L.. i>£ 27^ 
Thro' Spitfire Pond 
and Creek to Paul 
Smith's 2 1 /. 30 



Routes. 



i57 



Route No. 9. 
Westport 



Miles. 



To New York 278 

Elizabethtown 8 

Keene Flats (Head) . . 24 
Keene 20 



Miles. 

To North Elba 30 

Lake Placid 34 

Saranac Lake 42 

Paul Smith's 59 



No. 10. 

Root's 



To Elizabethtown 23 

Crown Point 22 

Schroon Lake 9>£ 

Mud Pond 10 

Upper Ausable 16 

Top of Marcy 21 



To Keene Flats 25 

Boreas River 13 

Tahawas 23 

Halfway House 31 

Long Lake 45 



Route No. 11. 
Glens Falls 



To New York 204 

Saratoga 22 

Lake George 9 

Warrensburgh 15 

Chestertown 27 



To Pottersville 33 

Schroon 42 

Minerva 41 

Newcomb 63 

Long Lake 77 



Route No. 12. 

Saratoga 



To New York 182 

Hadley (Luzerne) 22 

Thurman 3 6 

The Glen 44 

Riverside 5° 



To Chestertown 55 

Pottersville 56 

Schroon 65 

Root's 74 



Route No. 13. 
FULTON CHAIN OF LAKES. 



The usual gate of entrance 
from the south-west is made 
by leaving the Black River 
Railroad at Boonville or Port 
Leyden, thence by wagon to 
Arnolds, 23 miles; 2)4 miles 
further is the foot of first lake ; 
the first three are closely con- 

H 



nected, and collectively, about 
4 miles in length ; the fourth 
lake is the largest, 6 miles 
long, and contains a number 
of pretty islands, the fifth and 
sixth mere ponds — between 
them a portage of three-quar- 
ters of a mile: from sixth to 



i 5 8 



The Adirondacks. 



seventh \% miles by stream, 
seventh to eighth l / 2 mile by 
stream and % mile carry ; 
seventh and eighth are each 
about 2 miles long; then an- 



other \Yz mne carry to the 
inlet and 4 miles by stream ; 
30 miles in all from Arnold's 
to the Raquette. 



Route No. 14. 
Bartlett's 



Miles. 

To Daniels 2 

By Portage ($1.50) 5 

Down Raquette River to 

Tupper's Lake 16 

To Carey's 2 

By Carry (75 cts.) 3 

By Boat through Stony 

Creek Ponds 5 



Miles. 

To Raquette River 8 

To Mother Johnson's. . . 15 

By Portage ($1.50) 16^ 

To Cold River 2i# 

To Long Lake 11% 

To Island House 23 

To Kellogg's 32 



No. 15. 
TUPPER'S LAKE. 

Martin Moody's 



To Head of Lake 

Setting-pole Rapids 
Big Wolf Pond .... 
Daniel's Carry 



6 
6 

5 
11 



To Bartlett's 

Little Tupper's 
Lake Pleasant. 
Mud Lake 



16 

15 
6 

22 



Route No. 16. 
LONG LAKE TO TUPPER'S LAKE. 

Kellogg's 



To Island House . . 

To Outlet 

Through River 

Carry to Johnson's, 

To Tupper's Lake. 

To Head of Lake . 

By boat and carry 
to little Tupper's 
Lake 6 



6 


i5# 


1V2 


i6y 2 


8 


A\ l A 


7 


51/2 



57^ 



Little Tupper's. .. . y/ 2 61 
Through Creek, 

Pond and Carry 

(one of 3 miles), 

to Long Lake, via 

Slim and Clear 

Ponds 15 76 



Routes. 



*59 



Route No. 17. 

LONG LAKE TO BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE, 

and return via South Pond. 



Kellogg's 



To head of Lake ... . y/ z 

By River y 2 

By Carry y 2 

To Buttermilk Falls. % 

By Carry y 

By River. \ l / 2 

By Portage 1% 

Through Forked L., 4 
By Helmes Carry to 

Raquette Lake. % 
To mouth Marion R. 7 

By River 6 

By Carry y 2 



Miles. 

yA 
4 

4K 
5X 

S l A 

7 

sy 
i2y 2 

13 
20 

26 

26X 



By River % 

Through UtowanaL. 2% 
By Stream to Eagle L. y 
To "Eagle's Nest".. y 
To Blue Mt. Lake. % 

Across Lake iy 2 

By Carry to South 

Pond 3 

By Boat I % 

Ey Carry to L. Lake. 1 
To Kellogg's Ho- 
tel 3 



Miles. 
26^ 

29X 
30 
30^ 
3lX 



74- 



^2% 



Route No. 18. 
NEWCOMB TO LONG LAKE. 



From "Aunt Polly's" by 
boat through Belden Pond ; 
carry of 12 rods; Rich Lake, 
miles; W. branch of river, 



-. 1 



J/2 



i mile; Catlin Lake stream 
to Lillypad Pond, then Long 



Pond, 1 mile; Catlin Lake, 3^ 
miles ; Round Pond 1 mile ; iy 
mile carry to shore of Long 
Lake ; Island House, %, mile ; 
a little over 12 miles in all. 



No. 19. 

John Davis' 



To Kellogg's 14 

Mt. Joseph 6 

North Creek 30 

Pottersville 30 



To Tahawas 8 

Adirondack 18 

Glens Falls 63 



No. 20. 

Adirondack Village 



To Lower Works 10 

Mud Pond 18 

Indian Pass 6 

North Elba 16 

Calamity Pond 4 

Lake Colden 6 



To Avalanche Lake. . . . y% 

Lake Harkness 1 

Lake Andrews 2 

Preston Ponds 3 

Marcy, Top 12 



i6o 



The Adirondack^. 



No. 21. 

KEENE FLATS. 
Dibble's 



Miles. 

ToKeene 5 

Elizabethtown 13 

Westport 21 

Keeseville 31 

Plattsburgh 39 

Lake Placid 19 

Saranac Lake 28 



Miles. 

To Giant, Top 6 

Marcy, Top, via John's 

Brook 9 

Roaring Brook Falls. . 3 

Chapel Pond 4 

Mud Pond 17 

Root's 27 



Route No. 22. 
ROUND TRIP. 

Dibble's 



To Widow Beede's 2^ 

Lower Ausable 6 

Upper Ausable 9 

Marcy, Top 14 

Lake Colden 20 

Calamity Pond 22 

Iron Works 27 

Indian Pass 33 

Blinn's 43 



To John Brown's Grave 

Lake Placid 

Top of Whiteface . 
Mountain House . . 
Wilmington Notch 

North Elba 

Keene . 

Back to Dibble's 



43 
46 

53 
59 
65 
7i 
82 

87 



No. 23. 

Boston 



To Bellows Falls 114 

White R. June 1 54 

Rutland 166 

Burlington 234 

St. Albans 267 

Rouse's Point 289 

Chateaugay 336 

Ogdensburg 409 

Montreal 337 



To Quebec 420 

Troy ... 240 

Utica 330 

Syracuse 383 

Rochester 485 

Buffalo 532 

Niagara Falls 541 

Chicago 972 



No. 24. 

Montreal 



To Quebec 1 80 

White Mountains .... 201 

Portland 292 

New York 403 

Boston 337 

Saratoga 212 

Ottawa 167 



To Toronto 333 

Hamilton 372 

Niagara Falls 400 

Detroit 547 

Chicago 831 

St. Louis 1126 



Routes. 161 



FARES TO DIFFERENT POINTS. 

New York to Albany — H. R. R. R $3 60 

New York to Albany — Day and night boats 2 00 

Albany to Binghamton — Albany & Susquehanna R. R. 4 25 

Albany to Saratoga — R. & S. R. R 1 20 

Albany to Glens Falls 1 95 

Albany to Champlain Steamers 2 60 

Albany to Rutland 3 20 

Albany to Lake George via Glens Falls 3 20 

Albany to Ticonderoga via Lake Champlain steamers, 3 60 

Albany to Westport 4 60 

Albany to Port Kent 5 70 

Albany to Plattsburgh 6 20 

Albany to Plattsburgh via Lake George 9 20 

Albany to Rouse's Point 6 60 

Albany to Montreal via Bur. & Vt. Central R. R 8 60 

Albany to Montreal via Lake George 11 45 

Lake George Steamers (Excursion) 2 00 

Whitehall to Rouse's Point (Champlain steamers) .... 4 00 

Saratoga to Profile House, via Lake Champlain, 10 45 

Saratoga to Profile House, via Lakes George and 

Champlain 14 35 

Saratoga to Crawford House, via Lake Champlain. . 11 20 

Saratoga to Newport, via Lake Champlain 9 45 

Saratoga to Burlington, via Lakes George and Cham- 
plain 7 25 

Saratoga to Plattsburgh, via Lakes George and 

Champlain 8 00 

Saratoga to Montreal, via Lakes George and Cham- 
plain 1025 

Saratoga to Montreal, via Lakes George and Cham- 
plain, Ogdensburg and the St. Lawrence 16 00 

Excursion from Saratoga, through Lake George to 
Ticonderoga, and return by Champlain steamers, 

Stopping over night at Caldwell 7 00 



162 The Adirondacks. 

To the Hunting Grounds. 

New York to Albany, via H. R. R. R. ; Whitehall, via 
Rensselaer and Saratoga R. R. ; Champlain steamers 
to Plattsburgh, rail to Point of Rocks, and stage 
to Paul Smith's or Martin's, (about) $15 00 

New York to Port Kent, as above ; then via Keese- 
ville and Point of Rocks to Martin's or Paul Smith's 

by stage, 13 50 

New York to Ehzabethtown, via same route to West- 
port, then 8 miles of staging 9 20 

Elizabethtown to Keene (12 miles by stage) 1 50 

Elizabethtown to North Elba (Lake Placid), stage. . 2 00 

Elizabethtown to Martin's (34 miles by stage) 3 00 

New YoRKtoScHROON Lake, via Albany, Saratoga and 
Adirondack Railroad to Riverside ; thence by stage 
to Pottersville, six miles, and by Steamer Effingham 

to Schroon, nine miles 975 

New York to Long Lake, via Albany, Saratoga and 
Adirondack Railroad, to North Creek, fifty-seven 
miles, and stage via Minerva and Newcomb to C. H. 

Kellogg's (about) 13 00 

From Boston, via Fitchburgh, Bellows Falls, Rut- 
land, Burlington, Plattsburgh and Point of Rocks, to 
Paul Smith's or Martin's and return by same route, 22 00 

The fashionable round trip in connection with this is from 
Martin's to Paul Smith's, via Saranac Lakes and others by 
boat, or the same passed in reverse order. See Route No. 8. 







*1 



«I . #7 EACH , 






t«* 



■ ■ ■ 1 ■ a— 



6^' N 



164 




DELAWARE & HUDSON CANAL CO. 

HREE passenger trains each wa3 r , daily, over the Rens- 
selaer & Saratoga R. R., connecting at Glens Falls 
with stages for Lake George, at Whitehall with 
Lake Champlain Steamers, and at Rutland with 
Vermont Central R. R. for the north and east. 
During the season of pleasure travel, Fast through Ex- 
press trains are run between New York, Saratoga and Glens 
Falls, for Lake George, Saratoga, Sharon Springs and Phila- 
delphia via Wilkesbarre, Pa., connecting at Binghamton with 
trains on the Erie Railway, for the west and south-west. 

Connection is made at Albany and Troy with Day and 
Night lines of Steamers on the Hudson. 



TRAINS NORTH. 



1 

Stations. a.m. 

Albany Le. 

Troy *7-!5 

Round Lake T8.12 

Ballston 8.28 

Saratoga 9 . 00 

Fort Edward 9.42 

Glens Falls Ar. 10.10 

Glens Falls Le. 8.40 

Whitehall Ar. 10.35 

Lake 10 .45 

Rutland Ar. 11.50 



81 

A.M. 

*7 

t7-57 
12 

8.30 



3 

P.M. 

*i-45 
2-35 
2-53 
3.20 
4.02 
4-30 
3*5 
4-55 



5 

P.M. 

*4-3Q 
*4-5Q 

t5-47 
6.05 

6-35 
7- J 5 
7.40 
6.40 
8.05 
8.20 
9°5 



7 

P.M. 



25 



9 

P.M. 



8 



25 



11 

P.M. 
15 



20 



20 



26 

37 
50 



TRAINS SOUTH. 



2 

Stations. a . m. 

Rutland Le. 5.00 

Lake 5 . 50 

Whitehall 6.10 

Glens Falls . ...Ar. 7.30 

Glens Falls .... Le. 6.40 

Fort Edward 7.04 

Saratoga 7.55 

Ballston . . . ; 8.12 

Round Lake Le. T8.28 

Troy Ar. 9.25 

Albany Ar. 9 50 



4 

A.M. 
8.50 

io-35 
12.30 
11 .00 
11.28 
12.15 

12.34 

12.50 

1 .40 

2.00 



6 

P.M. 
4.00 

4-45 
5-°5 
6.30 

5-40 

5.56 

6-45 
7.04 

t7.2I 

8.15 



86 

P.M. 



7 
t 7 



8 

A.M. 



10 

P.M. 



55 
11 
26 



10 



8.30 



10 



10 



4.00 



5.00 



55 
33 

A.M. 
IO.OO 



I2.00 
6.30 

6.45 
6.56 

8"is 



* Trains Nos. 1, 81, 3 and 5 for Saratoga, Fort Edward and Whitehall, connect at 
Glens Falls for Lake George. Nos. 1 and 5 connect at Whitehall with Steam- 
ers on Lake Champlain for all points north, and at Rutland with Trains for north 
and east. No. 11 connects froi7i Day Boat for Saratoga. 

+ Nos. 2 and 4 connect with Express Trains for New York. No. 6 connects at 
Troy with Citizens' Line Steamers. No. 86 at Albany with People's Line Steam- 
ers for New York. No. 12 at Albany with Day Line Steamer. 

For rates of fare, tickets or information, apply to ticket 
agents of any connecting line, or to the undersigned. 
H. V. OLYPHANT, S. E. MAYO, 



Ass't Pres't, Albany, N. Y. 



Gen. Ticket Agt. 



io5 



CONDENSED TIME TABLE 

BETWEEN 

MEW YORK AND MONTREAL, 

VIA 

aLsixXsLo a-L*\*-vi.£z>l.£\±tt- and Saratoga. 

Vermont, Capt. Wra. H. Flagg. 

Champlain, Capt. Geo. Rushlow. 

Adirondack, Capt. Wm. Anderson. 

A. Williams, Capt. B. J. Holt. 

Forming two lines daily each way (Sundays excepted), be- 
tween Whitehall and Rouse's Point. The Steamers com- 
prising the line are entirely new, and are, as they always have 
been, models of neatness and comfort. Their general arrange- 
ments, decoration and finish are of the most artistic and 
luxurious character, and every attention is guaranteed the 
passenger. 



G-OIISTG- SOUTH. 



STATIONS. 



Lv. 



Ar. 

! it 



Montreal 

Rouse's Point 

Plattsburgh 

Port Kent 

Burlington 

Ticonderoga 

Caldwell 

Whitehall 

Saratoga 

Troy. 

Albany 

Schenectady 

N.Y., via Steamboat 
H.R.R.li... 



Night 

Boat on 

Lake. 



15 p m 
55 " 
30 " 
40 " 
30 " 
30 a m 



30 a m 
,40 " 
25 " 
50 " 
15 " 



3.30 pm 



Day 

Boat on 

Lake. 



6, 



10 a m 

" 

00 " 

00 " 

45 " 

3J p m 

00 •' 

45 " 

35 " 

15 " 

30 " 

55 " 

00 a in 

00 " 



G-OI3STG- NORTH. 



STATIONS. 



Lv. N.Y. via H.R.R.R. 
" Steamboat 

" Albany 

" Troy 

" Schenectady 

" Saratoga 

" Whitehall 

Caldwell 

Ticonderoga 

Burlington 

Port Kent 

Plattsburgii 

Rouse's Point 

Montreal 

Qgdensburg 



Ar. 



Night 

Boat on 

Lake. 



10.45 am 

"4.30 pin 
4.50 " 
5.00 " 
(i.45 " 
8.20 " 



10.30 " 
3.00 am 
3.40 " 
5.00 " 
7.15 " 
10.05 " 
12.35 pm 



Day 

Boat on 

Lake. 



11.00 
6.00 
7.00 
7.15 
7.23 
9.U) 

10.50 
7.45 

12.50 
5.00 
5.35 
6.30 
8.30 

10.30 



p in 



a m 



p in 



CONNECTIONS. 

At Whitehall, with trains of Rensselaer & Saratoga R. R., for Saratoga, Troy, 

Albany, New York, and all Southern and Westernpoints. 
At Ticonderoga, with Steamer Minnehaha through Lake George. 
At Burlington, with trains of Rutland & Burlington and Central Vermont Railroads, 

for all Southern and Eastern points, and the mountains of Vermont and New 

Hampshire. 
At Pokt Kent, with stages for Keeseville and the Adirondack Sporting Region. 
At Plattsburgh, with trains of N. Y. & C R. R. for the Hunting and Fishing 

localities oi the Saranac Lakes and the Adirondack Wilderness. 
At Rouse's Point, with trains of O. & L. C. and Grand Trunk Railways for Ogdens- 

burg, Montreal, Quebec, and all points in Northern New York and Canada. 

Trains leave Plattsburgh for Ausable Station at 7.:-.0 A. M. and 3.00 P. M. 
Returning arrive at Plattsburgh at 11.15 A. M. and b' P. M. 
Daily line of four-horse Coaches leave Ausable for the forest resorts on arrival 
of morning mail. A. L. Inman, Got I Supt. 



1 66 




VERMONT CENTRAL. 

HE VERMONT CENTRAL RAILROAD passes 
through the loveliest scenery of the old Granite State, 
up the valley of the Connecticut, and through the 
Green Mountains, breaking through the western 
barrier between Mansfield and Camel's Hump to 
Essex Junction, Burlington, St. Albans, thence north and 
west, making one of the nearest, grandest, and most direct 
route from the south and east to the Adirondacks, Montreal, 
the Thousand Islands and the Great West. Drawing room 
cars by day and sleeping cars by night; easy riding; luxu- 
riously furnished, well ventilated coaches ; sure connections, 
and quick time guaranteed to patrons of the road. 

J. W. HOBART, J. GREGORY SMITH, 

Gen. Suft't. Preside?it. 



[R 


ead down.] 




TIME TABLE. 






[Read u 


P.] 


Trains lea' 


ve. 








Trains arrive. 




» 




Miles. 




Miles. 




__, A 




Exp. 


Pass. 


Exp. 


STATIONS. 


Exp. 


Exp. 


Mail. 


P M. 


A.M. 


P.M. 








P.M. 


P.M. 


P.M. 


3.00 


8.05 


8.IO 




New York 


425 





12.35 
A.M. 


II. 12 

P.M. 


5 -50 


11.00 


II.20 


. . . 


.. . New Haven . . . 


. . . 


. ■ • . 


9.41 


8.30 


P.M. 


A . M . 


A.M. 








P.M. 


A.M. 


P.M. 


317 


8.IO 


5.OO 


. . . 


.. .New London. .. 


• ■ a 




II. 15 


9-32 


S%,£ 


II. IO 


7^,8 






• . • 


I0.20 


8-35 


6.23 


P. M. 


P. M. 


A. M. 














IO.OO 


4 30 


IO.07 





..South Vernon . . . 


237 


. . ■ • 


4-47 


3-55 


IO 20 


4-55 


IO.3O 


10 


.. Hrattleboro' . .. 


227 


9.40 


4 20 


3 30 


II. 15 


5-55 


II.32 


34 


. . Bellows Falls . . . 


203 


7.40 


325 


2.30 


I2.20 


7.20 


12.45 


60 


Windsor 


177.. 


•• 5-52 


2.10 


1.20 


A.M. 


A.M. 


P.M. 














1 .00 


4-50 


I 30 


74 


White River June. 


163 


4-55 


1.20 


"•55 


3.20 


7-25 


3 30 


127 


Northfield 


no 


2.56 


10.36 


9 3° 


3-3° 


7-45 


3-4o 


138 




101 


2.46 


10.20 


9.15 


4.42 


9°5 


4-55 


176 


Burlington .... 


75 


1.40 


9.00 


8.00 


6.10 


10.45 


6.15 


195 


.... St. Albans .... 


42 


12.15 


7- 2 5 


6.20 


9.10 




9.10 


259 


Montreal 




9-15 


3-45 


. . . 


A.M. 


P.M. 


P.M. 








A.M . 


P.M. 


A.M. 


6.30 


I2.IO 


6-35 


195 


St. Albans 


141 


"•55 


7-°5 


5-55 


7.40 


1. 18 


7.40 


218 


.. Rouse's Point . . 


118 


io-53 


5-55 


3-57 


IO.05 


5-15 


IO.25 


275 


.. . . Malone 


61 


8-35 


3.10 


10.25 


12.30 


8.00 


I2.4O 


336 


... Ogdensburg. .. 





6.00 


12-35 


6.1-0 








RUTLAND DIVISION. 








P.M. 


P.M. 


A.M. 








P.M. 


A.M. 


P.M. 


6.30 


11 IS 


II.50 





.. Bellows Falls .. 


120 


2.20 


3.20 


. .. 


11.00 


1 .40 


2 .OO 


53 


. . . . Rutland . 


67 


II .40 
P.M. 

9-45 


12.32 


7.00 




3-°5 


3-30 


86 


.. . Middlebury . .. 


34 


IO.58 


5.01 


.... 


4.40 


4-55 


120 


. . . Burlington.. . . 





7-55 


9. IO 


2.00 


.... 


9.10 


9.10 


216 




.... 




3-45 


.... 



1 67 





FOUQUET'S HOTEL 

S situated at Plattsburgh, N. Y., upon the 
banks of CumberLand Bay, near the scene of the 
naval battle of 1814. Its Piazzas afford delight- 
ful views of the Lake, the Islands, the Green 
Mountains on the east, and the Adirondacks on 
the south. It has a retired situation, pleasure, 
and flower grounds, fount of spring-water, spa- 
cious and well ventilated rooms, which, together with the 
pleasant drives in the vicinity, offer attractions to the seeker 
after health and pleasure, that cannot be surpassed. 

It has ever been noted as the principal resting place for 
parties en route between Montreal and Lake George, and from 
it via railway from Plattsburgh to Point of Rocks, the most 
interesting parts of the great Adirondacks can be reached with 
more convenience and dispatch than from any other point. 

During the past winter this hotel has been completely reno- 
vated and put in the most elegant condition for the accommo- 
dation of guests. Transient guests charged as heretofore. 

Maps, Guides to the great wilderness and a complete line of 
Stoddard's " Crystal " views of Ausable Chasm at the office. 
For particulars and further information address 

L. M. FOUQUET, Plattsburgh, N, Y. 



1 68 




AUSABLE HOUSE, 

Keeseville, N. Y. 

The Ausable House, located in the midst of a wild, pictur- 
esque and romantic country, is a desirable resort for season 
boarders. Rooms large ; will accommodate ioo. Terms, $3 
per day, transient ; per week, $9 to $14. 

E. AVERILL, Proprietor. 

Route. — Nearest and best route to the Saranacs, St. Regis 
and the Adirondacks, is via Lake Champlain steamers to Port 
Kent ; thence by Coaches to Keeseville ; by Stages or Livery 
from Keeseville to destination. 40 minutes from Port Kent; 
30 minutes to Ausable Chasm ; 4 hours to Whiteface Moun- 
tain, and 9 hours to the sporting grounds of the Saranacs and 
St. Regis — most of the route by Plank Road, through a pic- 
turesque and beautiful country. 



HARPER & TUFT'S. 

;ARPER & TUFT'S line of easy-riding four-horse 
coaches run to the Adirondack hunting and 
fishing grounds daily, meeting the Champlain 
steamers at Port Kent, running thence to 
Keeseville, up the lovely valley of the Ausable 
to Martin's and Paul Smith's at the Saranac 
and St. Regis Lakes, or to Martin's via Whiteface Mountain, 
Wilmington Pass, John Brown's Grave, Lake Placid, etc. 

Private carriages will be furnished to meet parties at Port 
Kent, etc., or for excursions when required. 

Address HARPER & TUFTS, Keeseville, N. Y. 




169 





AUSABLE CHASM. 

HE CHASM HOUSE is a large, pleasantly situated 
stone building, overlooking Birmingham Falls, at 
the head of Ausable Chasm, 1% miles from Keese- 
ville and 3 from Port Kent, affording a delightful 
retreat with hotel fare and country quiet. The 

rooms are large and airy, affording accommodation for 25. 

Terms $7 per week. Address H. H. Bromley, Keeseville, N. Y. 

ST. REGIS LAKE. 

AUL SMITH'S St. Regis House needs no comment. 

It is situated on the lower St. Regis lake, 38 miles 

from Ausable station, 14 miles from Martin's; has 

accommodations for 100 guests ; is first-class in every 

' respect, and patronized by the very best class of 

people in the country. Daily stages to R. R. Telegraph in 

the House. Boats, guides and camp supplies furnished. 

Terms $2.50 per day. Address A. A. Smith, Bloomingdale, 

Essex county. 

SARANAC LAKE. 

ARTIN'S. at the Lower Saranac, is the largest Hotel 
in the Adirondacks, at the regular entrance to the 
Lake region ; is a first-class House, containing large 
rooms, nicely furnished ; double piazza ; long, pleas- 
ant parlor fronting the lake. Telegraph in the 

House. Daily line of stage to Ausable station, 36 miles distant. 

Boats, guides and supplies furnished ; will accommodate 200. 

Terms $2.50 per day, $14 per week. Address Wm. F. Martin, 

Saranac Lake, Essex county. 

UPPER SARANAC. 

ARTLETT'S is at the foot of the Carry, between Round 
Lake and the Upper Saranac, 12 miles from Martin's, 
on the fashionable round trip to Paul Smith's and the 
Long and Tupper's lakes route — a popular hunting 
and fishing resort — where every thing necessary for 
the sport can be obtained at a reasonable price. Will accom- 
modate 50 guests. For further information address V. C. 
Bartlett, Saranac Lake, Essex county, N. Y. 






170 

NASH'S. 
ASH'S, on the west shore of Mirror Lake, facing the 

Great Peaks of the Adirondacks, within 80 rods of 

I ) Lake Placid, is open from June to November, with 
accommodations for 25 guests. Terms, $2 per day, $7 per 
week. From Ausable Station, 26 miles distant, the road 
passes by the base of Whiteface Mountain, the natural flume, 
Big Falls, and through grand old Wilmington pass. A pic- 
turesque drive of 28 miles leads to Elizabethtown. 

Private conveyances, boats and guides furnished at reason- 
able rates when desired. (See page 75.) 

Address J. V. NASH, 

North Elba, Essex Co., N. Y. 

LAKE PLACID HOUSE. 

HE LAKE PLACID HOUSE, B. F. Brewster, pro- 
prietor, is situated on Lake Placid; is new; rooms 
1 large and plainly furnished ; will accommodate 60 
guests. Terms, from $8 to $10 per week. 
Boats, camping necessaries, etc., to let, with or 

without guides. 

Address B. F. BREWSTER, 

North Elba, Essex Co., N. Y. 

LYON'S HOTEL, 

North Elba, N. Y., 

(\J/S situated on the post-road between Elizabethtown and 

Ak Saranac Lake, two miles from Lake Placid and one 

^1 and a half miles from John Brown's grave. Excel- 

C^A lent river and brook fishing near by. Post-office in 

— the house ; teams in readiness to convey guests to any 

place required; will accommodate 25. Terms, $1.50 per day, 

$8 per week. Address M. C. LYON, 

North Elba, Essex Co., N. Y. 




01 



i7i 




NEWCOMB. 

HE HALF-WAY HOUSE, John Davis, proprietor, 
is on the regular route to Long Lake, 14 miles 
distant and 30 miles from Pottersville and the Adi- 
rondack R. R. at North Creek. Stages leave North 
Creek daily stopping over night at Olmsteadville, 
leave Olmsteadville for Long Lake on Wednesday and Satur- 
day mornings at 6 o'clock. Returning leave Long Lake on 
Tuesday and Friday mornings at 7, stopping each way for din- 
ner, at the Half-way House. 

Guests desiring to stop over will find comfortable quarters 
and a table supplied with the best the forest affords. Those 
wishing to take the new water route to Long Lake, will 
here find Guides, Boats and all supplies necessary for camping 
purposes — will accommodate 20 guests. Terms per day $2.00, 
per week $10.00 ; 4 mails weekly. Address John Davis, New- 
comb, Essex Co., N. Y. 



WHITEFACE MOUNTAIN. 

HITEFACE MOUNTAIN HOUSE, S. H.Weston, 
proprietor, is situated at the eastern base of " Old 
Whiteface. It is 13 miles from Ausable station, 
12 from North Elba, 3 from the Natural Flume, 
4 from Big Falls, 6 from Wilmington Notch and 
6 from the summit of Whiteface Mountain. Horses, car- 
riages and guides in readiness for excursions or the ascent of 
Whiteface, will take care of 50. Terms $2.00 per day, $9 per 
week. Address T. J. Baldwin, agent, Wilmington, N. Y. 




TUPPER'S LAKE. 

ARTIN MOODY, situated at the foot of Big Tupper 
Lake in the midst of the best hunting and fishing 
ground in the wilderness, is prepared to furnish 
boats, guides and supplies to sportsmen through- 
out the season. The House will accommodate 50 
Terms, $1.50 per day, $10.00 per week. Address 
Martin Moody, Saranac Lake, Franklin Co., N. Y. 

See pages 91, 92 and 158. 




guests. 




172 



LONG LAKE HOTEL. 

ONG LAKE is one of the loveliest sheets of water 
in that magnificent region of lakes and streams, 
stretching through the wilderness in a north- 
easterly direction for 14 miles, an ever-changing 
panorama of bay and headland, from the rapids 
at its head to the beautiful natural meadow at its 
outlet ; it is but little more than a mile at the 
widest and contains several pretty islands, Round Island near 
its center being a perfect little gem. Fishing is excellent 
here, the lake containing, besides its trout and other fish com- 
mon to Adirondack waters, an immense number of pickerel, 
making rare sport for those inclined to troll. Away toward 
the north and east are the great mountain peaks, on the west 
a mass of streams and ponds that afford fine fishing and hunt- 
ing, while to the south are the noted Raquette waters, making 
it what it is often called, a sportsman's paradise indeed. Three 
miles from its head is the little village of Long Lake, noted 
for the manufacture of Adirondack boats and as being the 
home of some of the best guides that the wilderness has ever 
produced. 

The Long Lake Hotel, without which the region would 
lose a great deal of its attraction to the sportsman, is a few 
rods from the lake shore, a large roomy house that can take 
care of 30 comfortably ; the table is seldom without its trout 
or venison during the season and terms very reasonable for 
such fare ($10 per week). Stages leave and arrive twice each 
week, running to North Creek and Pottersville, 44 miles dis- 
tant, boats and camp equipages furnished, and guides engaged 
when desired (guides are here all " independent "). For particu- 
lars address C. H. Kellogg, Long Lake, Hamilton Co., remem- 
bering that it takes two or three days for a letter to reach 
that wild region. For distance tables, etc., see " Routes." 



173 



MANSION HOUSE. 



SIMONDS & KELLOGG, Proprietors. 

HIS popular hotel is situated in the pleasant 
^" little village of Elizabethtown, among the out- 
skirts of the Adirondacks, in the beautiful valley of 
the Boquet, near the junction of the Little Boquet, 
the view it commands is unrivaled. Is located on 
high ground which makes it particularly favorable 
for the entertainment of summer residents during 
the season, and can accommodate 200 guests. Our four-horse 
coach runs to the Lake Champlain steamboat landing, at West- 
port, eight miles, twice a day. Good horses and carriages can 
at all times be had for the accommodation of guests, and at 
reasonable rates. Terms, $10 per week. Address as above. 




To 



<« 
<< 



Distance from Mansion House 

Westport (steamboat landing) 8 miles. 

Port Henry 18 " 

Keene 11 " 

Head Keene Flats 16 " 

To Ausable Ponds 20 " 

North Elba (John Brown's grave) 22 

Lake Placid 25 

Saranac Lakes 33 

Paul Smith's 40 

Lewis 4 

Keeseville 22 

New Russia 4 

Split Rock Falls 8 

New Pond 10 

Root's Hotel (Schroon river) 23 

Schroon Lake , 32 

Black Pond 6 



«< 

<« 
<< 



The distance from Westport to Saranac Lakes via Elizabeth- 
town, Keene and North Elba is 41 miles ; the most direct, and, 
in every respect, the best and cheapest route. Stage fare, $3. 

Good conveyance can always be found ready to take people 
to any part of the Adirondacks at very low rates. 




TAHAWUS HOUSE, 

Keene Flats. 

>HE TAHAWUS HOUSE is located on a level 
plateau a little above the river, within three miles 
of the head of Keene Flats, commanding a mag- 
nificent view of the grand mountains around — Old 
Hurricane, Spread Eagle, the Giant of the Val- 
ley, Mount Dix, Noon-mark and others, the grand mass of 
broken, rugged mountain ranges and peaks toward the south 
and west, and within an hour's drive and walk of twenty 
gorges, flumes, passes, and cascades, the wildest and most 
beautiful that can be found in the Adirondack region. Keene 
Flats has but very recently been brought before the public, 
hidden as it is among the highest of the mountains, and then 
it flashed out like the revelation of an unknown land — now, 
standing as at the head of popular resorts for the artist and 
the refined lover of nature; the fishing near by is good, and 
the Ausable ponds toward the south, and forests in that direc- 
tion are specially noted for large number of deer. The Taha- 
wus House is nearly new, two stories high, well furnished, sur- 
rounded on two sides by a pleasant two story piazza, and will 
take care of forty guests very comfortably ; it is 19 miles from 
Westport, over a good country road ; 5 from Keene, with daily 
mails through the season. Guides and camping necessaries 
furnished when desired ; also carriages for the lovely drives 
north and south, or to meet parties at the Champlain steam- 
ers. Terms $8 to $10 per week. See Keene Flats "routes." 
For further particulars address 

N. M. DIBBLE, 
Keene Flats, Essex county, N. Y. 



175 




ADIRONDACK SPRINGS. 

HESE Springs are beautifully situated upon an east- 
ern slope of the chain of Adirondacks, yi mile from 
the shore of Lake Champlain, 4 miles from West- 
port village and the same from the wide-awake 
village of Port Henry; 3 miles from the Cheever 
ore mines, and 5 from the extensive mines at Mineville. They 
are but 2 hours ride from the ruins of old Crown Point. 

At the west is Bald Peak over 2,000 feet above tide water. 
A wagon road leading within ]/ 2 mile of summit from which an 
extensive view is presented of the mining districts, the tower- 
ing peaks of the Adirondacks lying to the west, and at the 
east the Green Mountain State with her many villages and 
streams dotting the plains to the Canadian border. 

Testimonials in pamphlet form with an analysis of the mine- 
ral waters cheerfully sent on application. Good accommoda- 
tions for a number can be engaged by addressing the 

proprietor, 

G. W. SPENCER, 

Westport, Essex Co., N. Y. 




MOOERS. 

HE JUNCTION HOUSE at Mooers is at the junc- 
tion of the Rouse's Point & Ogdensburg and New 
York & Canada Railroads, in the direct line of travel 
from the north-west and Montreal to Plattsburgh, 
the principal gateway and easiest route to the Great 
Wilderness, and noted as the place "where in an unpretentious 
little house can be procured a dinner hardly surpassed by any 
hotel in the country," every attention is paid to the con- 
venience of guests and in that great failing among hotels — 
want of cleanliness — the most fastidious can have no cause 
for complaint. Good hunting and fishing near by. Special 
attention given to commercial travelers. Horses and car- 
riages furnished when desired, Terms $2.00 per day. Meals 
ready on the arrival of connecting trains. For further par- 
ticulars address 

HENRY W. LAWRENCE, 

Mooers, N. Y. 



176 



CRAWFORD HOUSE, 

Keene Flats, N. Y. 

EW house; new rooms; newly painted, papered and 
furnished — a table that the proprietor aims to make 
as good as any. A central position ; daily mails, and 
the freedom of a home, with the accommodations of 
a hotel, are some of the attractions offered for 1874. 
Teams furnished when desired ; will accommodate twenty-' 
live. Terms $7 per week. 

Address E. M. CRAWFORD, 

Keene Flats, N. Y. 




L. SMITH HOBAKT, JOHN C. MOSS, D. I. CARSON, 

President. Superintendent. GenU Agent. 




NEW YORK. 

Relief Plates for Newspaper, Book and Catalogue 
Illustrations Engraved in hard Type-Metal, by a new photo- 
graphic process. Prints, Pen Drawings, Pencil Sketches 
and Photographs available. These plates are an excellent 
substitute for wood-cuts. Their average cost is muck less, 
and they are preferable in other important respects. They 
can be printed perfectly on any ordinary press. 

TERMS CASH ON DELIVERY. 

Send Stamp for Illustrated Circular. 







i 



178 ii x 14 Photographs — $18 per Doz. 

41. Black Mountain — matches with 42 and 43. 

42. Tongue Mountain — matches with 41 and 43. 

43. Point of the Tongue — matches with 41 and 42. 

44. Lake George — Narrows from Sabbath Day Point. 

45. Black Mountain from Sabbath Day Point. 

46. Lake George — Black Mountain from the North. 

47. Lake George — Looking South-west from Dresden. 

48. Sabbath Day Point, Lake George. 

49. Twin Mountains, Lake George. 

50. The Beach, Sabbath Day Point, Lake George. 

51. Lake George — View at Hague. 

52. Roger's Rock, from Anthony's Nose, Lake George. 

53. Roger's Slide, Lake George. 

54. Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga — The Barracks. 

55. Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga — Mount Defiance. 

56. Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga — Tremble Meadow. 

57. Steamer Adirondack. 

58. Steamer Vermont. 

59. Steamer Vermont, State-room Hall. 

60. Ausable Chasm — Up the River from Table Rock. 

61. Ausable Chasm — Up the River from Table Rock. 

62. Ausable Chasm — The Boat Ride. 

63. Ausable Chasm — Down from Table Rock. 

64. Ausable Chasm — The Devil's Pulpit. 

65. The Sentinel — Ausable Chasm. 

66. Cathedral Rocks — Ausable Chasm. 

67. Ausable Chasm — Down from the Punch Bowl. 

68. Ausable Chasm — The Devil's Oven. 

69. Birmingham Falls from Below. 

70. Birmingham Falls from Above. 

71. " The Walled Banks of the Ausable." 

72. Poke-o-moonshine — Adirondack. 

73. Rockwell's Hotel, Luzerne. 

74. The Hudson at Luzerne — Up the River. 

75. The Hudson at Luzerne — Down the River. 

76. Luzerne Falls. 
yy. Luzerne Lake. 

78. "The Wayside," Luzerne. 

79. Sunlight and Shadow. 

S. R. Stoddard, Photographer, Glen's Falls 




STRONG S REMEDIAL INSTITUTE. 




RS. S. S. & S. E. STRONG'S REMEDIAL INSTI- 
TUTE, Saratoga Springs, N. Y., has Turkish, Rus- 
sian, Sulphur-Air, Hydropathic, and Electro-Thermal 
Baths ; Equalizer or Vacuum Treatment, Movement 
Cure, Laryngoscope, Inhalation, Oxygen Gas, Fara- 
daic and Galvanic Electricity, Medicines, Health-lift, Gym- 
nastics, for the treatment of Nervous, Lung, Female and 
Chronic Diseases. 

For Description of Appliances, Diseases and their success- 
ful treatment, terms, etc., send for a Circular. 

Its proprietors are Graduates of the Medical Department of 
the New York University. The Institution is the resort of 
leading men in Church and State for rest and recreation as 
well as treatment. The building is heated with steam and 
thoroughly ventilated, constituting it a most desirable Winter 
as well as a Summer Home. 

Among our patrons are R<ev. T. L. Cuyler, D. D., Brooklyn , 
Prof. Taylor Lewis, LL. D., Union College ; Bishop E. S. 
Janes, D. D., New York City, etc. 



i8o 




ROCKWELL'S HOTEL, 

Luzerne, N. Y. 

fMONG summer resorts eas}'' of access, com- 
bining the advantages of first-class fare, lovely 
drives, boating, hunting and fishing, Luzerne 
has no peer in the country. It is situated on 
the Upper Hudson, just above its junction with 
the Sacandaga, 12 miles south-west of Lake 
George, and 22 miles north of Saratoga on the 
west side of the mountain that ends at the latter place. 

Rockwell's Hotel, standing near the river side, has been for 
years a noted resort for the solid men of the country, and for 
sportsmen, as the junior Rockwell is one of the most success- 
ful hunters in the country, and thoroughly posted as to the 
sporting grounds of the great north woods. 

The accommodations consist of the original hotel, con- 
taining the parlors, offices, sleeping apartments, the large 
dining room, one or two cottages and a pleasant roomy struc- 
ture surrounded by a grand broad piazza, and separated by a 
little distance from the main building. It contains 30 large 
rooms finished off in suites for such as prefer their seclusion 
to that of the more public ones. The entire establishment is 
luxuriously furnished, the beds especially excellent, and the 
table unexcelled by the very best houses in the country. 

It will accommodate 150. Terms, $3 per day; $14 to $17.50 
per week, 2 trains daily to Saratoga ; for further information 
apply to the proprietors, 

Messrs. G. T. ROCKWELL & SON, 

Luzerne, N. Y. 



i8i 





ROCKWELL HOUSE. 

HE ROCKWELL HOUSE is a new hotel, 
thoroughly furnished, large and well ventilated 
rooms ; situate near the Falls of the Hudson and 
the Cave made classic by the pen of Cooper, 
within an hour's drive of Lake George, passing 
Williams' Monument, Bloody Pond, Old Fort 
Gage, and other historical points on the way. Reaching Glens 
Falls by the morning train, tourists have time for dinner, and 
an afternoon's drive to the lake. Arriving by the evening 
train they can secure a good night's rest, and a daylight ride 
to Lake George the next day. 

Those intending to leave Lake George for the early morn- 
ing train at Glens Falls will add to their pleasure by reaching 
the Rockwell House the evening before ; thus securing a good 
night's rest, and a seasonable breakfast. Thus they will avoid 
rising at four o'clock in the morning, a ride of nine miles in a 
stage, and starting on a journey by railway without break- 
fast. Free omnibus to and from all trains. 
Board, $3 per day ; $14 to $21 per week. 

ROCKWELL BROTHERS, 
!5 Glens Falls, N. Y. 



182 




HALF-WAY HOUSE, 

'9 French Mountain. 

EORGE BROWN'S half-way house is 
located between Glens Falls and Lake 
George, near the 
foot of French 
Mountain, and 
right on the bat- 
tle-ground ofthe 
French and In- 
dian War, where, 
in 1755, the Mo- 
hawk chief, King Hendrick, and 
Col. Ephraim Williams fell, the spot 
marked by a monument erected to 
the memory of the latter, who was 
the founder of Williams College. 

This hotel is in fine condition, 
being newly furnished and painted, 
and for flowers, shrubbery, plants and shade has no superiors. 
The reception-room has the largest collection of Indian relics 
of the War of 1755-6 to be found in the country. 
Trout and game suppers always served in season. 
This hotel is well known by the traveling public as a first- 
class house for meals, and for the superior quality of its wines 
and liquors furnished by Mr. Brown, who has catered to the 
public taste at this place for the past twenty-eight years. 
Address, GEORGE BROWN, 

French Mountain, 
Warren Co., N. Y. 




WILLIAMS MONUMENT. 




i8 3 



FORT WILLIAM HENRY HOTEL. 

AKE GEORGE was re-discovered in 
1868 by T. Roessle & Son, who raised, 
enlarged and reconstructed the old 
wigwam at its head to such an extent 
that its former friends could hardly 
recognize it in the elegant structure 
now known as the Fort William Henry Hotel. It 
is from four to six stories high, surmounted by a 
mansard roof, and has a lake frontage of three hun- 
dred and thirty-four feet. Along the entire front 
extends a piazza twenty-five feet wide, the roof 
supported by columns thirty feet in height. Above 
the center rises a dome flanked by two towers, 
while at the east end of the building is another 
nearly as high. The center is on one end just at 
present, but Mr. Roessle designs to even it up soon, 
and make it, when completed, one of the most 
imposing structures of the kind in the country, and 
be, in fact, what he delights to call it — a palace. 

From the little balcony, hanging like a martin 
box high up on the dome, the tastefully arranged 
grounds may be seen spread out like a map beneath, 
while the beholder seems to have risen into a new 
world, with a widened vision which takes in over 
half the entire lake, extending away down into 
Northwest bay and over beyond the islands into the 
Narrows. Under the dome is the general office, 
which is also a point of general interest, made bright 
with the plumage of fair ladies ; fresh and clean, 
with just a touch of color blending with its white 
and gold, and elegant in its rich simplicity. 



1S4 



CENTRAL HOTEL, 



(Nearly opposite the Lake House.) 




Lake George. 

! HIS house is pleasantly situated in the village of 
Caldwell, at the head of Lake George. It fur- 
nishes unsurpassed attractions to families, sum- 
mer boarders, gentlemen of leisure and sports- 
men. The table is supplied with choicest delicacies and sub- 
stantial of the season, and the bar with the best of wines and 
liquors. 

Good hunting and fishing. Woodcock, Partridge, Snipe, 
Deer, lake and brook Trout, Bass, Perch and Pickerel abound. 
Will accommodate 60. Terms $2„oo per day. Special rates by 

the week or season. Address, 

B. O. BROWN, 

Lake George, N. Y. 



i85 




f* 'i 



CROSBYSIDE HOUSE, 

Lake George, N. Y., 

Is situated on the east shore of the lake, three- 
fourths of a mile from its head, formerly known as 
the United States Hotel. During the last year it has been 
enlarged and improved, and now has accommodations for 200 
guests. Three cottages on the grounds belonging to the 
house ; a dock where all Lake George steamers land ; a fleet 
of small boats for the accommodation of guests ; hourly ferry 
to Caldwell, carrying mails, etc. Situated on a breezy, tree- 
covered point, commanding one of the finest and most ex- 
tended views on the lake, the very first class of society, and a 
table that we try to make as good as any found in the country 
are among the attractions at Crosbyside. 
Terms $14 to $25 per week. Address, 

F. G. CROSBY, 

Lake George, N. Y. 



1 86 




MOHICAN HOUSE, 

Lake George, N. Y. 

The Mohican House is situated at 

Bolton, on the west shore of Lake 

George, 10 miles from its head, with 

which it is connected by a pleasant drive along shore and 

three steamers daily. 

It has accommodations for 90 guests, is one of the oldest 
hotel sites on the lake, near the fishing grounds of the nar- 
rows, is a favorite resort for artists and people of culture, and 
the proprietor aims to make it first class in every respect. 

Prices, $15 per week, $3 per day for transient guests. 
After September 10 the prices will be $2 per day or $10 per 
week. 

A good livery near by. Address, 

H. H. WILSON, 

Bolton, N. Y. 



i87 




BOLTON HOUSE, 
Lake George, N. Y. 



OLTON is on the west shore of Lake George, 
10 miles from its head. It is one of the most 
romantic and attractive places to be found in 
the country. It possesses rare attractions 
for the artist in its grand mountain and lake 
views ; for the hunter of partridge and other 
small game, and the fisherman, in its brook and lake fishery. 
The Bolton House, on the shore of the bay, is a new, first- 
class hotel three stories high ; rooms large, well ventilated 
and well furnished, and will accommodate 60 guests. A 
roomy observatory on the roof commands an extended view 
of the Lake to the south and east ; the Narrows with its many 
islands, North-west Bay toward the north, and the mountains 
on every side. 

The large, airy dining-room and pleasant open parlor, 
occupying the entire main floor of the building, the broad 
verandah fronting the lake and south sides, boats, guides 
and fishermen ; three steamers, express and mails daily ; city 
cooks and accommodating servants are some of the attractive 
features of the Bolton House for 1874, as the proprietors 
have determined to make it the house of the season by sup- 
plying its guests with the needs of the present time and age 
rather than relying on a traditional reputation and the musty 
events of the past. In doing this no pains will be spared to 
make the stay of its patrons pleasant and agreeable. Terms 
$12 to $17 per week. Address, 

NORTON & PHILLIPS, 

Bolton, N. Y. 




LAKE GEORGE has long been 
noted as one of the loveliest sheets 
of water in the country if not indeed in the world ; it is thirty- 
four miles long, about four across at its widest ; surrounded 
on all sides, excepting at the outlet, by mountains, and said to 
contain 365 islands. Fourteen Mile Island, one of the loveliest, 
is 12 miles from the head of the Lake at the entrance to the 
Narrows ; comprising an area of twelve acres of land and 
mossy rock, covered with a grove of oak, chestnut and Nor- 
way pine and commanding an uninterrupted view of the Lake 
to its extreme head on the south, to Bolton on the west and 
the Narrows with its hundred islands toward the north. The 
Hotel has comfortable accommodation for forty guests, and the 
reputation of setting one of the very best of tables. Three 
steamers touch at the dock daily, bringing mail, etc. Guides, 
boats, and fishermen provided if desired. Terms from $10 to 
$14 per week. Address 

R. G. BRADLY & CO., 
14 Mile Island, Lake George, N. Y. 




1 89 

CHESTER HOTEL, 
M. H. Downs, Proprietor. 

iHESTER HOTEL is situated at the thriving little 
village of Chestertown, 5 miles from the Adirondack 
Railroad at Riverside, on the direct stage route be- 
tween Lake George and Schroon Lake ; 18 miles from 
the former and 5 from the latter. It has been noted 
for years as the center of a great fishing region, and combines 
all the advantages of a first class hotel, with facilities for 
rare sport in the streams and lakes near by. 

Will accommodate 140 guests. Terms, per day, $2; week, 
$10 to $16. Address M. H. DOWNS, 

Chestertown, N. Y. 

Distances from Down's Hotel 

To New York 237 miles 

"Saratoga 55 " 

" Glen's Falls 27 " 

" Riverside 5 

" Pottersville 5 " 

" Warrensburgh 12 

" Lake Pharaoh 13 " 

" Friend's Lake 2>£ " 

" Schroon River (outlet of Schroon Lake) 2 

" Loon Lake \ X A u 




191 

SCHROON LAKE. 

^CHROON LAKE is undoubtedly one of the 
most popular semi-wilderness resorts in the 
country. It is surrounded on all sides by moun- 
tains — not high, but at the south wild and rugged, 
broken into curious fragmentary masses, growing 
smoother as we approach the north end from 
which the valley of North Hudson stretches away, 
the mountains on the west growing wild once more, with but 
one break — at Root's, nine miles from the head of the lake, 
where the road goes west to the Boreas and Long Lake 
region — until they come together at Deadwater, and you have 
to climb up between them to get over into Pleasant Valley 
on the north. It is nine miles long and perhaps two wide, 
divided in two nearly equal portions at the Narrows and 
empties south through the river of the same name into the 
Hudson near Warrensburgh. At the south end is Potters- 
ville, at the north, Schroon Lake Village. 

Routes to Schroon Lake. 

New York to Albany by rail or steamer ; Albany via Sara- 
toga to Riverside (Adirondack Railroad) by rail ; Riverside 
to foot of Schroon Lake, six miles, in Leavitt & Leland's 
Concord coaches, connecting with trains ; thence nine miles 
by steamer to Schroon Lake Village. Lake George to Thur- 
man Station (Adirondack Railroad) nine miles by stage ; 
thence to Riverside and as above. 

Time Table. 

Leave New York by Hudson R. R. R. at 9 A. M. and 11 p. m. ; 
arrive at Schroon Lake 8 P. M. same day. Leave New York by 
People's Line Steamers, 6 p. m. ; arrive at Schroon Lake 2:30 
P. M. next day. Leave Schroon Lake, 6:30 a. m. and 12:00 m. ; 
arrive at New York at 5:30 p. m. same day by railroad, or 6 A. m. 
next day by boat, and 11 p. m. same day by railroad, or 6 a.m. 
next day by boat. Baggage checked through both ways. 

See route, page 155. 



192 

ROOT'S HOTEL, 
Schroon River, N. Y. 

^OOT'S HOTEL has for fifty years been known 
to the traveling public, and always favorably. 
It is situated in the valley of the Schroon, nine 
miles north of Schroon lake at the eastern en- 
trance to the great Northern Wilderness. The 
roads are excellent, the scenery beautiful — at 
places very wild and grand. Hunting and fish- 
ing is good ; and the proprietor intends, as heretofore, to 
make the table first-class in every respect. 

Terms $2.00 per day, $10 per week — will accommodate 
thirty-five. Address, A. F. ROOT, Schroon River, Essex 

Co., N. Y. 





POTTERSVILLE HOTEL, 
L. R. Locke, Proprietor, 

ITUATE at the south-eastern entrance to the 
Adirondack Wilderness, near the southern 
extremity of Schroon Lake. Passengers by 
stage from Riverside dine here, thence by 
steamer Effingham from landing, % mile dis- 
tant, to Schroon Village at head of Lake. 



DISTANCES FROM POTTERSVILLE. 

To Schroon Village 9 miles. 
" Minerva. 8 

" Long Lake. 44 



To Riverside, (Ad. RR.) 6 miles 
" Chestertown. 5 " 

" Lake George. 23 " 

Teams furnished to parties desiring to enter the Wilderness 
from this direction. 

Terms $2.00 per day, $ 10 per week . Address, L. R. LOCKE, 
Pottersville, Warren Co., N, Y. 



193 

LELAND HOUSE, 

Schroon Lake, N. Y. 

<^jr^>HIS is a well-known house, the patronage limited only 
by its capacity. The table will be bountifully supplied 
with all the delicacies and luxuries of the season. 




No bar attached to the house. No pains to render pleasant 
the sojourn of guests will be spared*. First-class accommoda- 
tion for 125 guests. 

Terms for Board. — Transient Guests, $3.00 per day, 
During June and September $12.00 to $14.00 per week; during 
July and August $15.00 to $17.50 per week. 

17 " 




194 

WICKHAM HOUSE, 
Schroon Lake, Essex County, N. Y. 

HIS new first-class house, comprising a three-story 
main building, 110x40, and three-story wing 40x22 
feet, contains 40 commodious apartments, exclusive 
of spacious parlors, office and reading room, dining room and 
halls ; is furnished throughout with modern convenience 
and has ample capacity for the entertainment of 100 guests. 
It is delightfully located upon an elevation of the lake shore, 
but a few rods from the steamboat wharf and livery of 50 boats, 
a short distance from the stores, post, express and telegraph 
offices and churches, and commands an extensive view of the 
beautiful lake and picturesque surrounding scenery to the 
south and east, which may be enjoyed in connection with 
the promenade formed by the grand piazza, 15 feet wide, 25 
feet high, and 100 feet in length upon the south front, from 
which the grounds slope gently toward the wharf. 

Boating, steamboat excursions, pic-nics, and driving, in the 
most exhilarating climate, and in the midst of the finest hunt- 
ing, fishing and scenery of the Adirondack region, in 
connection with modern conveniences, daily mails, and com- 
munication by telegraph, steamboat and railway, makes 
Schroon Lake deservedly the most popular summer resort in 
northern New York. 

Horses, carriages and boats, with drivers, oarsmen and 
guides if desired, at fair prices by the hour, day, week or 
season, may be ordered at the office of the house. The steam- 
ers Effingham and Libbie S. Benedict can be chartered at 
moderate rates. 

Schroon Lake is upon the most direct and desirable route t ) 
the great Northern Wilderness, and distant but 23 miles ride 
from the summit of Mount Marcy. 

The bill of fare of the Wickham House will embrace all the 
desirables of the season, with which its tables will be abun- 
dantly spread. The proprietor will aim to leave nothing 
undone for the comfort and convenience of guests. 

Board per day, $3 ; per week, $14 to $21 ; price depends on 
time and room. E. WICKHAM, Proprietor. 




195 

ONDAWA HOUSE, 

Schroon Lake. 

HIS old favorite is now in its seventh year, is desirably- 
located in the immediate vicinity of the steamboat 
wharf, livery of fifty boats, livery stable, post, express 
and telegraph offices, churches, and principal stores, 
with first-class accommodations for 90 guests. Com- 
prehensive bill of fare and abundantly spread tables. 
Guests promptly and respectfully served. Choice wines and 
liquors constantly on hand. Three hundred feet of piazza 
fronting the park, lawn, croquet and play ground, afford a 
delightful promenade, commanding an extensive view of the 
unrivaled scenery of Schroon Lake. 

Board per day, $2.50 ; per week, $12 to $16. After Septem- 
ber 1, $2 per day; $10 per week. Special advantage offered to 
those who wish to make arrangements for fall hunting. 

Thankful for past liberal patronage, the proprietor of the 
Ondawa House respectfully solicits and will endeavor to merit 
its continuance. JOHN D. BURWELL, Proprietor. 

TAYLOR HOUSE, 

Schroon Lake. 

HIS popular house has been enlarged during the past 
spring, by a spacious three-story addition of nearly 
2,000 feet area, with first-class accommodations for 
125 guests. Among its attractions are commodious 
and well-ventilated sleeping apartments, parlors, office 
and reading-room, dining-room, halls, barber's saloon, 
and large hall for amateur entertainments ; a delightful central 
location ; new grand piazza; excellent fare; prompt and re- 
spectful service; moderate rates. Board per dav, $2.50; per 
week, $10 to $15. C. F. TAYLOR, Agent. 



MUD POND HOUSE. 

UD POND HOUSE is located in the immediate 
vicinity of the Adirondack Mountains upon the 





n nearest and most direct route, from the south, to 
the Ausable Ponds and Mount Marcy, distant 
^J) only about 9 miles, over a good trail, 4 miles of 
' which can be made on horseback. A good car- 
riage road leads to Root's, 9 miles distant. Terms, $1.50 per 
day. Will accommodate thirty. P. O. address, 

M. BRUCE, Schroon River, Essex Co., N. Y. 



E. & H. T. ANTHONY & CO., 



9 

(Opposite Metropolitan Hotel,) NEW YORK CITY, 

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MODESTY 

Is becoming, and may be indulged i?i with impunity, so long as it 
harms no one, and does not inte?'fere with business. 

Relying on the good taste and honesty of co?uwisseurs, as well as 
my own judgment, I can and do say that I have the best photo- 
graphic views of the Ausable Chasm ever offered for sale, atid 
am willing again to submit them with others to competent judges, 
who shall decide on their relative merits. 

On the following pages will be found leaves from catalogues, 
which will be sent free, on application with stamp enclosed. 1 
have 600 stereoscopic views of Lake George, Luzerne, Lake 
Champlain, and other places ; also 200 n.ri4 and 8.rio photo- 
graphs of the best subjects, many of them designed especially as 

Studies for Artists. 

The stereoscopic views are of the large size, mounted 071 heavy 
cards, with titles on the front, and will be sold at $2.50 per doz. ; 
small size at $2.00 and $1.20 per doz. ; 8.no photographs $1.00 
each ; 1 1x14 photographs $1.50 each. A map of Ausable Chasm 
accompanies each dozen views of that region. They may be 
obtained at Fouquet's Hotel, Fort William Henry Hotel, on the 
steamboats, and ofW. G. Baldwin, Keeseville, and at the lower 
entrance to Ausable Chasm. 

S. R. Stoddard, Glens Falls, N. Y., July, 1874. 



Stoddard's Stereoscopic Views. 201 

522. Soldiers' Monument, Glen's Falls. 

523. Decoration Ceremonies, Glen's Falls. 

524. Opera House — Interior, Glen's Falls. 

525. Railroad Depot, Glen's Falls. 

526. "All Aboard "— Depot, Glen's Falls. 

527. Fountain, Glen's Falls. 

528. Fountain, Glen's Falls. 

529. Presbyterian Church, Glen's Falls. 

530. M. E. Church, Glen's Falls. 

531. M. E. Church — Interior, Glen's Falls. 

532. Organ, M. E. Church, Glen's Falls. 

533. Altar, M. E. Church, Glen's Falls. 

534. " Rose " Window, M. E. Church, Glen's Falls. 

551. Birmingham Falls, Ausable Chasm. 

552. Birmingham Falls, Ausable Chasm. 

553. Birmingham Falls from Bridge. 

554. Birmingham Falls — Rock in Center, 

555. Birmingham Falls — East side. 

556. Birmingham Falls — West side. 

557. Horseshoe Falls from above, Ausable Chasm. 

558. Horseshoe Falls from below, Ausable Chasm. 

559. Birmingham Falls from Horseshoe Falls, 

560. Birmingham Falls from Horseshoe Falls. 

561. The Lodge Entrance, Ausable Chasm. 

562. Tower of Babel, Ausable Chasm. 

563. Leaning Tower, Ausable Chasm. 

564. Split Rock, Ausable Chasm. 

565. The Covered Way, Ausable Chasm. 

566. Water-worn Rocks, Ausable Chasm. 

567. Plume Rocks, Ausable Chasm. 

568. The Pyramid, Ausable Chasm. 

569. " Boaz," near the Oven, Ausable Chasm. 

570. River above the Oven, Ausable Chasm. 

571. Looking up from the Oven, Ausable Chasm. 

572. The Devil's Oven, distant view, Ausable Ch'sm 

573. The Devil's Oven, near view, Ausable Chasm. 

574. Looking out of the Oven, Ansable Chasm. 

575. Down the River from Oven, Ausable Chasm. 

576. Down the River from Oven, Ausable Chasm. 

577. Jacob's Ladder, Ausable Chasm. 

578. Hell Gate, Ausable Chasm. 

579. Under the Wall, near Oven, Ausable Chasm. 

580. Devil's Punch Bowl, Ausable Chasm. 

581. Mystic Gorge, looking out, Ausable Chasm. 

582. Mystic Gorge, looking in, Ausable Chasm. 

583. Up from Mystic Gorge, Ausable Chasm. 

584. " Moses," Ausable Chasm. 

585. Down from Punch Bowl, Ausable Chasm. 



202 Stoddard's Stereoscopic Views. 

586. Down from Mystic Gorge, Ausable Chasm. 

587. Stairs to Long Gallery, AusableChasm. 

588. The Long Gallery,, Ausable Chasm. 

589. The Long Gallery, Ausable Chasm. 

590. Point of Rocks, Ausable Chasm. 

591. View near Hyde's Cave, Ausable Chasm. 

592. Smuggler's Pass, Ausable Chasm. 

593. Lower Entrance — -looking down into Chasm. 

594. Lower Entrance — looking down into Chasm. 

595. Stairway, Lower Entrance, Ausable Chasm. 

596. Foot of Stairway, Ausable Chasm. 

597. Table Rock, Ausable Chasm. 

598. Old Bridge at Table Rock, Ausable Chasm. 

599. Up River from Lower Stairs, Ausable Chasm. 

600. Up River from Table Rock, Ausable Chasm. 

601. Up River from Table Rock, Ausable Chasm. 

602. "The Sentinel," Ausable Chasm. 

603. "The Sentinel," Ausable Chasm. 

604. Base of the Sentinel, Ausable Chasm. 

605. Sentinel from above, Ausable Chasm. 

606. Cathedral Rocks, Ausable Chasm. 

607. athedral Rocks, Ausable Chasm. 

608. The Anvil, Ausable Cnasm. » 

609. Easy Chair, Ausable Chasm. 

610. Devil's Pulpit, Ausable Chasm. 

611. DownRiver from Old Bridge, Ausable Chasm. 

612. Gorge from Cathedral Rocks, Ausable Chasm. 

613. Gorge from Cathedral Rocks, Ausable Chasm. 

614. Gorge from The Sentinel, Ausable Chasm. 

615. Shelf Rock, Ausable Chasm. 

616. The Walled Banks. The Boat ride — Sunlight. 

617. The Walled Banks. The Boat ride — Shadow. 

618. The Pool, down the River — Ausable Chasm. 

619. "Caught in his own Trap," Ausable Chasm. 

620. The Chasm House, Birmingham. 

621. Lake Champlain, near Whitehall. 

622. Marsh, Lake Champlain. 

623. Old Fort Putnam, Lake Champlain. 

624. " Put's Rock," Lake Champlain. 

625. Lookout Mountain, Lake Champlain. 

626. Lookout Mountain, Lake Champlain. 

627. Rock Cut, near Whitehall, Lake Champlain. 

628. Champlain Canal, near Whitehall. 

629. Railroad toward Rutland, Whitehall. 

630. Lake Champlain, near the Elbow. 

631. " Dancing Water," Bridge at Rouse's Point. 

632. Steamer Vermont, Lake Champlain. 

633. State-room Hall, Steamer Vermont. 



203 

A WARNING. 

O not enter the woods until you have secured a pho- 
tograph of yourself as a means of identification on 
your return. Baldwin at Keeseville will take your 
dimensions in any style and size, and it will be a 
pleasure in after years to point to it and say : "Thus 
looked I when I entered the Adirondack wilderness, and" — 
pointing to another which can also be obtained at Baldwin's 
as he takes both kinds, "thus when I came out." 

Stereoscopic Views a specialty. A large line of Adiron- 
dack and Stoddard's 





"Crystal" Stereoscopic Views of Ausable Chasm, 

For sale at the lower entrance and at Keeseville. 

W. G. BALDWIN, Keeseville, N. Y. 

IMPERIAL ADIRONDACK VIEWS. 
(Four by seven inches, $6 per doz.) 

i. The Great Peaks from the South. 

2. Indian Pass from Lake Henderson. 

3. Mount Golden from Lake Henderson. 

4. Long Lake, South from Davis Island. 

5. The Owl's Head, Long Lake. 

6. Buck Mountain, Long Lake. 

7. "A Foggy Morning," Long Lake. 

8. Mount Seward from Long Lake. 

9. Schroon Lake. 

10. Boreas River. 

11. Whiteface Mountain. 

Additions are being constantly made to the list. Large 
views 8x10 and 11x14 of many of the subjects, designed as 
studies for artists. Address S. R. Stoddard, Glens Falls, N. 
Y., or W. G. Baldwin, Keeseville, N. Y. 



204 Stoddard's Stereoscopic Views. 

634. State-room Hall, Steamer Vermont. 

635. State-room Hall, Steamer Vermont. 

636. Gun Deck, Steamer Vermont. 

637. Hurricane Deck, Steamer Vermont. 

638. Steamer Adirondack. Lake Champlain. 

639. Waiting for the Train, Steamer Adirondack. 

640. State-room Hall, Steamer Adirondack. 

641. State-room Hall, Steamer Adirondack. 

642. Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga, The Barracks. 

643. Barracks from the North, Ticonderoga. 

644. North Bastion, Ruins of, Ticonderoga. 

645. Interior of Officers Quarters, Ticonderoga. 

646. Hole in the Wall, Ticonderoga. 

647. North from Barrack Window, Ticonderoga. 

648. North from Top of Magazine, Ticonderoga. 

649. Entrance to Magazine, Ticonderoga. 

650. Interior of Magazine, Ticonderoga. 

651. Mt. Independence, Fort Ticonderoga. 

652. Old Battery on Point, Fort Ticonderaga. 

653. Mount Defiance from Fort Ticonderoga. 

654. Mount Defiance from Fort Ticonderoga. 

655. Tremble Meadow from Fort Ticonderoga. 

656. The South Wall, Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga. 

657. Site of Covered Way, Fort Ticonderoga. 

658. Parade Ground, Fort Ticonderoga. 

659. Old Fort Well and Hotel, Ticonderoga. 

660. Fort Ticonderoga Hotel. 

661. Fort Ticonderoga Hotel from the Ruins. 

662. Port Henry, Lake Champlain. 

663. Port Henry from Crown Point Ruins. 

664. Furnaces From Crown Point Ruins, 

665. East Barracks, Crown Point Ruins. 

666. South Barracks, Crown Point Ruins. 

667. Interior, East Barracks, Crown Point Ruins. 

668. Entrance to Parade, Crown Point Ruins. 

669. North from Crown Point Ruins. 

670. Old French Fort and Chimney Point. 

671. Parade, looking West, Crown Point Ruins. 

672. "On the Breastworks," Crown Point Ruins. 

673. Light House from Crown Point Ruins. 

674. Poke-o-moonshine, Adirondacks. 

675. View near Poke-o-moonshine, Adirondacks. 

676. Whiteface Mountain and House, Adirondacks. 

677. North from Whiteface mountain House. 

678. In the Wildwoods, Long Lake, Adirondacks. 

679. Boreas River, Adirondacks. 

680. A glimpse of the Boreas. 

681. Mount Marcy, Haystack, etc. from the South 



CONTENTS 



FAGE. 

GENERAL INDEX — Summer Resorts, Hotels, etc iv 

Lakes and Ponds iv 

Mountains v 

Miscellaneous v 

Illustrations vi 

THANKS vii 

ROUTES, Distance Tables, etc ♦ .. 155 

FARES to Different points 161 

TIME TABLES — R. & S. R. R 164 

Champlain Steamers 165 

Vermont Central 166 

MAPS — The Great Wilderness.' In Cover 

Railroad Map 163 

Schroon Lake 190 

Ausable Chasm 44 

GUIDES, Names and Post-office Address 151 

CALENDAR. — Modesty 200 

CHAPTER I. — In General — Outfit — Supplies — Guides — Expenses. 

CHAPTER II. — Lake Champlain — Past and Present— Whitehall — Ticon- 
deroga — Plattsburgh. 

CHAPTER III.— Narrative — The Start — The Pilot— " Well, by Thunder]" 

CHAPTER IV. — Ausable Chasm — Keeseville — Wilmington. 

CHAPTER V.— Whiteface Mountain— The Ascent — " Little Foot-prints" — 
Down the Mountain. 

CHAPTER VI.— On the Road —Wilmington Pass — " Gr-roop " — John Brown- 
North Elba — At the Grave — A Woman of Business. 

CHAPTER VII.— Lake Placid— Att's Humor — Paul Smith's — The First Snow 
Storm — Martin's. 

CHAPTER VIII.— The Lower Saranac — Round Lake — Bartlett's — A tired 
Clerk — The Upper Saranac — Encounter with a Fish-ball — Tupper Lake 
Region — Up the Raquette — Long Lake. 

CHAPTER IX.— Raquette Lake — The Schoolmaster — The Carry — Forked 
Lake — The Raquette — Marion River. 

CHAPTER X.— The Eagle's Nest — Ned Buntline — Blue Mountain Lake- 
Over the Mountain — Newcomb. 

CHAPTER XL— On the Tramp — John Cheney —Adirondack, the Ruined Vil- 
lage—Avalanche Lake—' 1 Bill Nye"— "Hitch up, Matilda." 

CHAPTER XII.— Indian Pass — From Lake Henderson to North Elba. 

CHAPTER XIII.— Pleasant Valley — Elizabethtown. 

CHAPTER XIV.— Keene Flats— "The Old Man of the Mountains "—Ausable 
Ponds — Panther Gorge — Mount Marcy — Good-bye to the Mountains. 

CHAPTER XV.— Guides — Names, Post-office Address, etc. 

CHAPTER XVI— Routes — Excursions — Tables of Distance — Fares, etc. 

CHAPTER XVII.— Summer Resorts — Miscellaneous. 







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